Apparent steel consumption in the European Union will keep rising moderately in 2022-2023 but the non-stop rise of energy prices remains a risk, the European steel association Eurofer said.
Eurofer estimated that apparent steel use in the EU rebounded by 13.8% in 2021, to 147 million tonnes. The association has upgraded the outlook slightly compared with October 2021.
The association forecasts a more moderate year on year rise of apparent steel consumption of 3.2% in 2022, to 152 million tonnes. This would be the first time steel demand in the bloc would return above 2017 levels, mainly due to continued improvement in demand from steel-using sectors, Fastmarkets understands.