The Short Range Outlook April 2021 report published by the World Steel Association (worldsteel) indicates that steel demand by world’s advanced economies posted double-digit decline during the previous year. The demand recorded year-on-year decline by 12%. The activity levels continued to remain well below the pre-Covid-19 levels as at the end of 2020.

The report predicts substantial recovery in 2021 and 2022, with demand expected to surge by 8.2% and 4.2% respectively. However, the 2022 demand is likely to still fall well below 2019 levels, worldsteel noted.