Japanese steel demand may fall 3.4 percent in Q1-06 |
Demand for Japanese steel products may fall 3.4 per cent in the three months from January 1, led by falling exports and a decline in construction use, said Japan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Steel demand may drop 930,000 tons to 25.8 million tons in the three months ending March 31, the ministry said in a statement today.
Steel exports may fall 16.9 per cent in the next three months from a year ago, Hisayoshi Ando, a director at the ministry’s steel unit, told reporters today.
Construction demand for steel is expected to fall 1.1 per cent as the Niigata earthquake and hurricanes contributed to an increase in steel use for rebuilding civil works a year ago, he said.
Output is expected to fall by 1.6 per cent to 27.3 million tonnes in the quarter ending March 31 2006, the statement said.
Japan’s domestic demand for steel is expected to rise 1.1 per cent to 19.75 million tonnes in the quarter on stronger demand led by sectors such as industrial machinery and shipbuilding, the ministry said.
All sectors excluding civil works expect steel demand to increase or remain unchanged, the report said.
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