India’s Steel Demand Recovery Faster-Than-Expected
India’s steel demand has recovered faster-than-expected after plunging in the fiscal first quarter, as consumption in the rural sector revived, according to the nation’s biggest mill by market value. Consumption slumped by more than half in the three months through June as economic activity ground to a halt after India imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to contain the coronavirus pandemic. While demand in the second quarter is still down about 10% from a year earlier, it has more than doubled from the previous quarter, according to JSW Steel Ltd. Still, full-year consumption will be 10% lower than a year earlier as about 15 million tons of demand was lost in the first half. However, exports have been moderating as local demand improves. JSW, which exported 2.7 million tons in April-September, or 80% of its entire shipments in 2019-20, expects to end the current year with overseas sales of about 3.8 million tons, Rao said. Global flat product prices are still attractive for exports.