World steel demand is likely to fall 14.9 per cent this year, making the decline by far the biggest in the industry since the end of the second world war, according to forecasts issued Monday by the World Steel Association.

The projection is considerably more pessimistic than the 10 per cent demand fall for 2009 that is the current central assumption by ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, which reports its first-quarter results on Wednesday.