SAIL cuts India's FY12 steel demand outlook

SAIL cuts India's FY12 steel demand outlook. India's steel demand is likely to grow by 6 percent in the current fiscal year, nearly half the earlier forecast, as higher interest rates squeeze demand from the automobile and construction sector, the country's top domestic steel maker said. Maintaining the prior forecast of 10 to 12 percent growth in consumption for the year ending in March is difficult in the current environment, Shuman Mukherjee, director commercial at Steel Authority of India Ltd told an industry conference on Tuesday. "Right now demand is slightly sluggish. Let's hope it improves," he said. Car sales in India fell 23.8 percent in October, the biggest percentage drop since December 2000, an industry body said earlier this month, hurt by a series of interest rate increases by the central bank and high vehicle costs. The sluggish demand will keep steel prices under pressure, Mukherjee said.