Why ‘Two sessions’ matters to metals industry

China’s ‘two sessions’ is an annual event when both the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference hold separate annual meetings. China’s major policy announcements, including economic, happen during this event. As the world’s top producer and consumer of steel, China impacts global demand-supply and prices of steel. Early news from the Two Sessions set China’s 2023 GDP growth target at 5%, disappointing metal analysts, who had hoped post-Covid restrictions re-opening to boost demand.  Analysts noted the Two Sessions was least cheerful for steel and aluminium, and absence of  thrust on Chinese real estate and infrastructure may also weaken the metal rally.