The World Steel Association projects India's steel consumption will rise 7.9 per cent to 172.4 million tonnes in 2026, then climb a further 8 per cent to 186.2 million tonnes by 2027, with outlays on public infrastructure, activity in the private real estate sector, and an expanding manufacturing base collectively underpinning that demand.

The association's October Short Range Outlook, released Monday, projects India holding its position as the steel market with the strongest demand growth among major economies, even as worldwide consumption levels off in 2026 — a plateau attributed to an extended downturn in China's real-estate sector and ongoing instability across West Asia.

Across India, appetite for construction tied to infrastructure programmes is positioned as the primary engine pulling overall demand upward. Buoyant demand in the private property market, a manufacturing sector running at a healthy clip, and a broadening slate of renewable energy ventures are all projected to lend further support to the outlook.

Growing production capacity is drawing additional steel consumption from the electrical and mechanical machinery industries, while vehicle manufacturers are seeing gains on the back of home-market appetite, export growth, and backing from government policy.

Worldsteel's projections place worldwide steel consumption at roughly 1,722 million tonnes through 2026 — essentially unchanged from current levels — before a 1.7 per cent uptick carries that figure to 1,752 million tonnes by 2027. Projections for both 2026 and 2027 were scaled back by the association, with the 2026 outlook retreating from the modest expansion it had anticipated in April and the 2027 figure dropping below the earlier 2.2 per cent estimate.

China accounts for the bulk of the forecast reduction, with steel consumption there now projected to shrink by 2 per cent through 2026, as a prolonged slump in property investment and ongoing weakness in infrastructure spending weigh on demand. By 2027, that rate of decline is forecast to ease back to around one per cent.

Factory output in China has held in expansionary territory, driven in part by export demand, yet gains there have fallen short of compensating for the drag coming from property and infrastructure sectors.

Outside China, steel consumption is forecast to edge up by 1.5 per cent through 2026, then pick up pace to reach 4 per cent growth the following year, underpinned by a rebound in industrial output across wealthier economies alongside continued expansion in markets still building their industrial base.

Purchasing activity across the construction, capital goods, and automotive sectors forms the foundation of the positive picture for India. Building activity and private capital flows are projected to keep steel offtake on an upward path, with equipment and structures tied to clean-energy installations adding a further layer of demand.

Taken together, the two nations that account for the largest share of global steel demand — India and China — are charting notably different consumption paths. Demand from India is projected to hold at high single-digit growth rates across the outlook window, whereas China's property sector realignment points toward continued contraction in that market.

The association noted that ongoing turbulence across the Middle East, combined with unsettled conditions in energy supply chains, leaves the broader global forecast vulnerable to further strain. Global markets held their ground more firmly than analysts had anticipated, even as the cushion available to absorb further strain has been gradually thinning across most economies.

Figures drawn from information available in the first weeks of September 2026 form the foundation of the projection.