Since last few years, Asia has always been the leader in world steel consumption with around half of the world steel demand generated in Asian markets. The Asian region comprises of developing countries like India, China, middle east region, some countries in SE Asia etc. where infrastructural development is on the forefront of the agenda. The other steel consuming sectors like auto, white goods etc, also view Asia as the fastest growing market, thus further strengthening steel demand. Though the region witnessed a setback when economies of some of the South East Asian countries faced currency crisis, most of the lost ground is made up and these countries are again on fast growth track. All this makes Asia the most favoured destination for not only to steel makers but to all the allied sectors like technology providers, equipment manufacturers, raw material suppliers etc.

    Today, China is the undisputed leader of global steel sector, producing around 350 million tonnes per year and consuming even more than that. Thus it is the trigger of the global steel trade and any change in Chinese industry perspective will make a major impact on international iron & steel trade. The steel prices, which were at a higher level throughout the year 2004, started sliding down in the second quarter of 2005. Today they seem to be stable but surely not settled. Some analysts attribute this to slowing down of Chinese demand. Even European steel mills have taken a cautious approach. On the other hand, many mills in Indian sub-continent and gulf region have embarked upon huge capacity expansion programmes. As such, iron & steel industry generally seems to be poised for a healthy growth for next few years, especially in Asian region.