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Falling demand weakens outlook for global steel industry

The Financial Times (10/3, Marsh) reports that, at the annual meeting of the International Iron and Steel Institute, which begins this weekend in Washington, D.C., steel industry executives "will find it hard to maintain their resolutely upbeat stance of recent years." The Times notes, "The global steel industry, with combined sales of about $1,000 billion a year, is hugely susceptible to ups and downs in the world economy as a whole." Since the end of June, "many companies that buy steel have started to reduce purchases on the back of weaker demand in their sectors. Much of this is linked to credit restrictions spreading into the economy." This has caused "prices for many grades of steel to fall substantially." In order to "counter the weaker trends, many steel companies are preparing to cut production, at least for a few months, in the hope this will match falls in demand, and maintain prices and profitability."