ICRA Declared Revised Steel Demand Outlook

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Ratings agency ICRA Limited announced revision to its domestic steel demand outlook.

In a report released yesterday, ICRA revised its outlook for domestic steel demand to 7-8% for the next fiscal year. This is higher from the previous demand growth forecast of 6-7%. The report cited that the revision is attributed to the Central Government’s capital expenditure outlay in FY2024, which is expected to provide big boost to steel-intensive infrastructure projects.

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The capital expenditure budget for 2023-24 is projected at INR 10 lakh crore, accounting for 3.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The government’s push for infrastructure-led economic growth has resulted in robust growth in domestic steel consumption during the ongoing fiscal.

According to Jayanta Roy, Senior Vice-President and Group Head, Corporate Sector Ratings at ICRA, the anticipated high single-digit steel consumption growth next year is expected to drive the steel industry’s capacity utilisation rate to improve to around 80 percent in FY2024, taking into account the commissioning of some new expansion projects.

As per data, the finished steel consumption in the country had totalled 107.20 million tonnes during April-February of FY23.