Eurofer ups EU steel demand forecast, warns on 'disastrous' US tariff plan

European steel association Eurofer raised its 2017 EU steel demand forecast on Monday but said isolationist measures such as a US plan to levy steel tariffs on national security grounds could be disastrous for global trade flows. Eurofer said apparent EU steel demand, which includes inventory changes, will rise 1.9% this year to 159-million tonnes. It previously forecast demand, seen as a gauge of regional economic health, would rise 1.3% in 2017.