India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will run for a general election to seek his third term in early 2024. India's general election is the largest democratic exercise in the world and will last for weeks.

Analysts said steel demand in India will probably slow down in the next financial year because the general election will delay government projects and infrastructure expenditure. They said there is a 7-10% expected growth in India's steel demand in the 2024-25 fiscal year, which is slower than an expected 11%-12% growth in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

Even though global demand is down, the steady government expenditure on infrastructure projects still makes India one of the fastest-growing markets for alloy globally and the main growth market globally for steel.

The consumption of finished steel reached a five-year high between April and October due to both construction activity and automobile demand going up.