Beijing, December 22 (Xinhua) -- The 2024 global steel demand forecast released by the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute on December 22 shows that the global steel consumption in 2023 is expected to be 1.77 billion tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.3%; The global demand for steel in 2024 is expected to be 1.78 billion tons, with a year-on-year increase of 0.8%.

In 2023, the global economy will recover from the COVID-19, Ukraine crisis and other shocks, but global inflation will be high, and major economies will tighten monetary policies, leading to a slowdown in economic activities.

The Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute predicts that steel consumption in Africa, South America, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia will all decrease year-on-year in 2023, with declines of 3.5%, 1.9%, 1.7%, 1.4%, and 1.2%, respectively. In 2024, against the expectation of stable global economic growth, the total global steel demand increased by 0.8% year-on-year to 1.78 billion tons. Among them, the growth rate of steel consumption in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East ranks among the top three in the world, with year-on-year growth rates of 5.0%, 4.5%, and 3.0%, respectively.

From a regional perspective, Xiao Bangguo, Vice President of the Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, stated on the same day that the global steel demand pattern in 2024 has not changed much compared to 2023.

The proportion of steel consumption in the European region has increased the most globally, with a year-on-year increase of 0.37 percentage points to 11.08%; The proportion of consumption in Africa, the Middle East, North America, and South America has all increased by less than 0.1 percentage points; The proportion of consumption in Oceania remained unchanged year-on-year; The global proportion of steel consumption in Asia has slightly decreased by 0.64 percentage points to 69.72%, but the proportion of steel consumption still ranks first in the world. (End)