Japan steel demand may increase

Print this page Posted on : 09-29-2009 by recycleinme.com

Japanese steelmakers, the world's second-largest producers of the metal, forecast demand will increase next quarter on rising exports to Asia. October-to-December demand will probably exceed the 23 million tonnes forecast for the three months ending Sept. 30, Mr Shoji Muneoka, chairman of the Japan Iron & Steel Federation, said in a press briefing in Tokyo, without specifying the quantity. Mr Muneoka is also president of Nippon Steel Corp., Japan's largest maker of the alloy. Japan's crude steel production gained 8.5 per cent in August from a month earlier, the fourth straight monthly gain, the federation said Sept. 18. Mills are benefiting from rising demand in China and other emerging nations even as the domestic market is likely to remain flat amid lower construction spending and capital investment, he said. China and East Asia are pushing up steel demand, he said. It's too early to say domestic demand is on the road to a steady and self-sustained recovery.

Source : Business Line