METI: Japan's steel demand, crude steel output to fall over April-June

Japan's steel industry will experience a slow first quarter of the country's new fiscal year from April 1, with demand seen falling by 1.5% from April-June last year and steel production dipping by 0.7% year-on-year as well, according to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) forecast released on April 9.

During the quarter, domestic and export steel demand – expressed in terms of crude steel – will dip only slightly but sufficiently to push the reading into the 17 million-tonne range at 17.98 million tonnes, the ministry's data show, a major decline from the near 20 million tonnes that