EUROFER: Recession in Steel Consumption to Deepen in 2023

The EU apparent steel consumption totalled 35.6 million tonnes in Q2 this year, falling by 7.6% over the previous year.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The European Steel Association (EUROFER) announced gloomy steel market outlook for 2023, primarily due to falling demand on account of high inflation and interest rates, elevated energy prices and rising geopolitical tensions.

The recession in apparent steel consumption is expected to further deepen in 2023, falling by nearly 5.3%. Although it expects rebound of 7.6% next year, there exists threats posed by economic uncertainty and geopolitical unpredictability.

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The EU apparent steel consumption totalled 35.6 million tonnes in Q2 this year, falling by 7.6% over the previous year. This is the fifth consecutive quarter to record slump in demand. The negative trend is likely to continue for another quarter, thus resulting in overall decline of 5.2% in apparent steel consumption for the whole year 2023.

The domestic steel deliveries declined for the fifth consecutive time in the second quarter of 2023. The deliveries were down significantly by 6.5%. The imports too fell by 10.2% during the quarter. However the pace of decline more than halved upon comparison with 26.6% decline recorded in the first quarter of the current year. Meantime, the share of imports continued to remain at elevated levels of 28%.

The EU steel using sectors remained resilient, registering moderate growth of 0.8% in Q2 this year, mainly due to robust performance by automotive, mechanical engineering and transport sectors. EUROFER expects growth of steel-using sectors to record 50% decline to0.6% in 2023.