India steel demand likely to grow 8% this fiscal year

India steel demand likely to grow 8% this fiscal year.
Staff Reporters
Dow Jones MetalSource Steel

NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--India's steel demand is expected to grow by 8% in the current financial year that began April 1, despite slowing sales in the first eight months, a senior government official said Monday.
"If the central bank eases the [key policy] rate and industrial demand picks up, steel consumption is bound to grow in the remainder of the fiscal year," steel secretary Pradeep Kumar Misra told reporters.
Steel consumption in the April-November period increased 3.9% to 45.1 million tons. Demand was weak due to slow growth of the automobile, household appliances and construction sectors, which consume the bulk of the steel produced in the country.