By Alex MacDonald
LONDON--ArcelorMittal (MT), the world's largest steelmaker by
volume, lowered its 2013 steel demand growth forecast in North
America and the European Union but raised its steel demand growth
forecast in China, resulting in a largely unchanged global demand
growth forecast for this year.
The steelmaker said it still expects global steel demand to grow
by 3% this year after rising 1.7% in 2012. China, the world's
largest steel producer and consumer, is now forecast to see
apparent steel demand grow by 5% this year compared with a previous
forecast in May of 4% growth.
The Luxembourg-based company said that even though underlying
steel demand remains robust in China, steel production is forecast
to fall in the second half of the year as infrastructure investment
growth slows during the period and into 2014.
Global apparent steel demand growth, excluding China, was
revised down to 2% from 3%. This was largely due to downward
revisions to steel demand forecasts in the EU and North
America.
Steel demand in the EU's 27 member states is forecast to shrink
by 2.5% this year compared with a previous forecast of 1.5%, while
steel demand in the countries that make up the North American Free
Trade Agreement, or Nafta, is forecast to grow by 1% instead of
2.5%.
ArcelorMittal said construction in developed countries remains
low. It added that U.S. residential construction is improving but
European construction remains depressed.
ArcelorMittal lowered its 2013 earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, guidance to "greater than
$6.5 billion" from more than $7.1 billion Thursday, primarily due
to lower than expected steel demand in North America and Europe,
two of its key markets, and lower-than-forecast prices for the
steelmaking raw materials that it sells.
Write to Alex MacDonald at alex.macdonald@wsj.com