Severstal expects steel demand in Russia to dip 1% in 2023

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) - According to the forecasts of Severstal , demand for steel in Russia could dip 1% in 2023, CEO Alexander Shevelev said in a video message.

"We expect a slight decrease in demand for steel, within 1%, in 2023," Shevelev said.

"Meantime, the situation could even change in a positive direction if automotive and machine engineering companies continue to boost production; and the construction market will receive support in the form of large infrastructure projects," the CEO said.

As previously reported, according to the company's estimates, steel consumption in Russia decreased 3% in 2022, with the overall volume of the steel market totaling 43.2 million tonnes. Consumption of steel in the construction sector declined 4% to 33.1 million tonnes last year, and consumption in machine engineering fell 18% to 4.2 million tonnes. However, consumption of steel in the energy sector increased 28% to 5.9 million tonnes on the back of PJSC Gazprom implementing the largest investment program over the past five years, as well as owing to low activity in 2020-2021.