According to an association official, a government program to rejuvenate aging residential areas in urban centers will help drive demand, along with local government investment in infrastructure. 

But as production resumes a more normal pace, steelmakers in China might be swayed to go the electric arc furnace route, given the flexibility of those and the high level of uncertainty in the global markets, reports news and pricing service Fastmarkets MB. 

"If steel demand changes sharply and suddenly in the future, steel mills will need to adjust their production accordingly. This is especially so if a second explosion of COVID-19 cases were to occur in China," an industry analyst told the publication.