- Base effect of Shanghai lockdown supports
some industries
- Steelmakers were already warning of a
crisis last summer
China’s raw materials producers are at the forefront of falling industrial
profits as poor demand and price deflation tear into margins at
steel mills, metals smelters, chemicals firms and coal miners.
While
the pace
of declines slowed in April across many sectors — in large part
due to the base effect of comparing against last year when Shanghai was in
lockdown — the weakening of profitability at coal mines worsened. Ferrous
metals producers, which include the makers of steel for buildings and cars,
were the worst performers on a monthly basis.
India's
steel demand is expected to grow by 7.5% in 2023-24