Sunday, January 02, 2005
China's steel peril may be oversupply
Myrtle Beach Online : China's steel peril may be oversupply - Rising exports, lower prices could have global effect
For much of the past two years, China has threatened to foster a world steel shortage with its prodigious appetite for imports of the metal. Now the country has become a net exporter, its domestic demand is slowing and steelmaking capacity is up around the world, sparking concern over global oversupply and tougher times for the industry in the years ahead.
Behind China's shift is a sharp slowdown in the growth of steel consumption at home combined with continued increases in production. As Beijing has worked to cool an overheated economy, the growth in domestic demand for steel recently has been rising only about 5 percent a month compared with year-earlier periods, after average monthly increases of 26 percent in 2002, 2003 and early 2004
For much of the past two years, China has threatened to foster a world steel shortage with its prodigious appetite for imports of the metal. Now the country has become a net exporter, its domestic demand is slowing and steelmaking capacity is up around the world, sparking concern over global oversupply and tougher times for the industry in the years ahead.
Behind China's shift is a sharp slowdown in the growth of steel consumption at home combined with continued increases in production. As Beijing has worked to cool an overheated economy, the growth in domestic demand for steel recently has been rising only about 5 percent a month compared with year-earlier periods, after average monthly increases of 26 percent in 2002, 2003 and early 2004
