Buoyant ArcelorMittal expecting positive year
The steel company says it expects world steel demand to grow by between 0.5% and 1% in 2019 after an increase of 2.8% in 2018
Brussels — ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, has forecast a slight expansion of global steel demand in 2019, after a healthy market drove its earnings to their highest level in a decade last year. The company said on Thursday that it expected world steel demand to grow by between 0.5% and 1% in 2019 after an increase of 2.8% in 2018. Demand, it said, would improve in all regions except China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of steel, where ArcelorMittal has a minimal presence. The most rapidly expanding market would again be Brazil, with a 3.5%-4.5% growth in 2019 from 7.3% in 2018. Steel demand in ArcelorMittal's main markets, Europe and the US, would grow 0.5%-1% and 0.5%-1.5% respectively, lower than in 2018. “Although the issue of global overcapacity persists and there are well publicised macro-economic risks, we expect further, moderate global steel demand growth this year,” CEO Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement. “Having considerably strengthened the com...
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