Stainless steel consumption for 2020 is projected to fall by 7.8pc to 3.47mn mt from the previous year according to International Stainless Steel Forum data.
The decline in consumption is on the back of the effect of COVID-19 pandemic. In the previous year, global consumption of stainless steel was around 41.24mn mt.
ISSF also says that by 2021, stainless steel consumption will increase by 3.28mn mt to 44.52mn mt which is nearly up 8pc on the back of all the regions returning to normalcy due to the end of COVID-19 pandemic, suggests the association.
Given the increasing usages of stainless steel, and the incoming demand from China, which is a major producer and consumer of stainless steel, consumption is bound to rise, however, gradually. In the first half of 2020, due to the impact of COVID-19 and the related lockdown, China’s apparent consumption declined slightly by 2.3pc or 271,000mt to 11.65mn mt.
Global average nickel prices are also rising and reached January levels in early August. LME nickel hit a year’s high of around $14,705/mt on Wednesday. Nickel is a major raw material for production of stainless steel.