PETALING JAYA (Oct 13): Malaysian Iron and Steel Industry Federation (MISIF) sees recovery in the iron and steel industry, and better outlook in 2017 amid the current challenging economic condition.
"The industry has 'edged' up since 2015 and we see the upward trend," said MISIF president Datuk Soh Thian Lai.
Soh noted the current steel demand in ASEAN has been positive, adding that its demand growth is between 5% and 6% annually.
He also said steel prices have recovered due to China cutting down their steel industry output, of which the Chinese government has cut down an excess capacity of 45 million tonne.
When asked about the outlook of the iron and steel industry, Soh said, "The worst is over."
Speaking to the media at the 12th conference on the status and outlook of the Malaysian iron and steel industry today, Soh pointed out that steel prices have been normalised in the third quarter of 2016 compared to last year's huge drop in the prices.
Soh also mentioned he sees that steel prices will stay normalised in the fourth quarter of this year and have an upward trend in 2017.
Currently, long steel is priced between RM1,800 to RM1,950 per tonne, while iron ore is priced at US$56 (RM236) per dry metric tons.