India's Steel Demand to Grow 7.9% in 2026, 8% in 2027, Fastest Globally: Report

New Delhi, Oct 15 (KNN) India is expected to remain the fastest-growing major steel market globally, with demand projected to rise 7.9 per cent in 2026 to 172.4 million tonnes and a further 8 per cent in 2027 to 186.2 million tonnes, according to the World Steel Association (worldsteel).

The association's October 2026 Short Range Outlook said India's growth would be supported by infrastructure construction, steady private real estate activity, machinery investments and automotive manufacturing, ANI reported.

Global steel demand, meanwhile, is projected to remain broadly unchanged at 1,722 million tonnes in 2026, before growing 1.7 per cent to 1,752 million tonnes in 2027.

China Weighs On Global Demand

The report attributed the weaker global outlook largely to China's prolonged property sector downturn and geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East.

Chinese steel demand is expected to contract by 2 per cent in 2026 and decline by another 1 per cent in 2027, as the real estate slump and falling infrastructure spending offset gains in manufacturing.

Alfonso Hidalgo de Calcerrada, Chair, worldsteel Economics Committee, said the global recovery was proving slower and more gradual than anticipated in the association's April outlook.

“Global steel demand is now forecast to be flat in 2026 rather than to grow modestly, and to grow by 1.7 per cent in 2027 rather than 2.2 per cent” Calcerrada added.

“Almost the whole of that revision is a China story,” he noted, adding that demand outside China was expected to grow 1.5 per cent in 2026 and accelerate to 4 per cent in 2027.

Global Demand Outlook

Across developing economies excluding China, steel demand is forecast to grow 1.9 per cent in 2026 before accelerating to 5.1 per cent in 2027.

The moderation this year is largely linked to the Gulf Cooperation Council region, where demand is expected to fall around 11 per cent due to deferred projects and conflict, before rebounding 11.3 per cent in 2027.

Within the ASEAN-5 economies, demand is projected to grow 5.2 per cent in 2026, with Vietnam's apparent steel use expected to reach nearly 30 million tonnes.

In developed economies, steel demand is forecast to expand 1 per cent in 2026 and 2.2 per cent in 2027.

The United States is expected to record demand growth of 2 per cent in 2026 and 1.5 per cent in 2027, supported by investments in data centres and energy infrastructure.

In the European Union, demand is projected to decline 0.3 per cent in 2026 following inventory build-up ahead of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2025, before recovering 3.1 per cent in 2027.

Japan and South Korea are also expected to see modest recoveries, with demand rising 0.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, in 2026.

Calcerrada said the October forecasts reaffirmed expectations of a meaningful recovery in industrial activity and steel demand across developed economies in 2027.

(KNN Bureau)