ArcelorMittal SA cautioned on the outlook for steel
demand, noting the woes of the Chinese real estate sector and tighter monetary
policy could drag on consumption this year.
Whether China will recover strongly after lifting
tough coronavirus restrictions has been the key question for commodities
markets. Industrial metals surged at the start of the year on bets of higher
demand from the world’s top consumer, but have since stalled as investors wait
for concrete signs of a rebound.
China could see an expansion or contraction of 1% in
steel demand, with the country’s beleaguered property industry acting as a
headwind, ArcelorMittal said Thursday in a statement.
“With continued weakness expected in real estate during the
year, steel consumption is expected to stabilize in 2023 with potential upside
dependent on government infrastructure stimulus,” the company said.
Apparent consumption of steel outside of China — a key barometer
of the world economy — is projected to increase 2% to 3% in 2023, after
contracting in key regions last year, ArcelorMittal said. That will largely be
driven by the rebuilding of inventories, while growth in real demand from
consumers will face headwinds.
“As we look ahead, evidence suggests that the customer destock
we saw in the second half of 2022 has peaked, hence providing support to
apparent steel consumption and steel spreads,” ArcelorMittal chief executive
officer Aditya Mittal said in the statement.
ArcelorMittal rose as much as 1.8% in Amsterdam trading, before
trading 0.9% higher as of 9:40 a.m. local time.
ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker outside of China,
saw earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization drop to
$1.26 billion in the final quarter of 2022, after a slump in demand forced it
to idle some European capacity. That was slightly higher than analyst
estimates. Lower prices and high energy costs, driven by the war in Ukraine,
also eroded its margins.
Mining.com