WSA further lowers global steel demand outlook for 2026

The World Steel Association (WSA) has further lowered its forecast for global steel demand in 2026, citing a deeper-than-expected contraction in demand from China, where persistent weakness in the property sector and sluggish infrastructure investment have continued to weigh on steel consumption, according to the association's latest Short Range Outlook (SRO) released on Monday.

Global steel demand is expected to be largely flat at 1.722 billion tonnes in 2026, as compared with the association's April forecast for a slight on-year growth of 0.3%. The growth projection for 2027 is revised down to 1.7% from the previous 2.2%, with total demand forecast to reach