Steel and car producers Forecast slow return to growth
According to the world's top two steelmakers and leading carmakers, any return to growth would be slow & gradual.They expressed doubts over some economists' forecasts for a recovery beginning by end of this year.
Both ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corporation posted quarterly losses and ArcelorMittal's CFO said that he expected global demand for steel, to fall 10% this year.
Carmakers also gave same signals of economic recovery prospects.
Nissan also did not forecast a strong recovery in global car demand, despite some recovery signs in China. Honda revised its annual forecast upwards but the boost came maily from cost cuts.
Peugeot forecasts say that Europe's car market would not start recovering until late 2010. Retail sales in Japan offered more bad news They fell a deeper than expected 3% in June from a year earlier, suggesting worsening job and income conditions were offsetting government stimulus measures in the world's second biggest economy.
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