The association’s latest estimates are an improvement over its previous six-month forecast, which had pegged global demand growth at 0.5%. 

“In 2016, steel demand recovery was stronger than expected with the upside mostly coming from China. We believe in 2017 and 2018 we will see a cyclical upturn in steel demand with a continuing recovery in the developed economies and an accelerating growth momentum in the emerging and developing economies,” T.V. Narendran, chairman of the association’s economics committee, said in a statement. 

“We expect that Russia and Brazil will finally move out of their recessions,” he said.  

You can find the association’s full forecast here.