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Economic and market outlook
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The European Steel Association regularly monitors the economic conditions on the steel market, including apparent and real consumption, imports and exports, production levels and the performance of the main steel-using sectors.
The culmination of this ongoing work are the four quarterly Economic and Market Outlook reports, which contain the most recent available data that is publically disseminable. More information about when these are released can be found in the statistics publication calendar.
Annually, EUROFER also produces a European Steel in Figures guide, collating the most recent full yeat's worth of data. That can be found in the downloads and links block below.
First quarter 2024 report. Data up to, and including, third quarter 2023
Brussels, 08 February 2024 – Lingering adverse conditions are set to exacerbate the recession in 2023 while slowing down the anticipated steel market recovery in 2024. Ongoing conflicts, prolonged uncertainty in energy prices and monetary tightening due to persistent inflation, combined with a bleak economic outlook, have further impacted apparent steel consumption (-6.3%) over the past year. This unpredictability is expected to constrain its rebound (+5.6%, previously projected at +7.6%) in the current year, against the backdrop of subdued industrial output (+0.2%) in steel-using sectors. Despite dwindling demand, imports steadfastly uphold their market share (27%), which exceeds historical levels.
Fourth quarter 2023 report. Data up to, and including, second quarter 2023