Company: MT
Filing Date: 2025-08-01
Form Type: 6-K
Source: 0001243429-25-000067
Chunk: 8

Company: ArcelorMittal
Filing Date: 2025-08-01
Form: 6-K
Chunk 8
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. While GDP growth in the first half is estimated at 3.3%, supported by a strong first quarter, elevated interest rates are likely to weigh on economic activity and GDP growth during the remainder of 2025 and into 2026.

In India, after GDP growth of 6.7% in 2024, GDP growth in the first quarter of 2025 was robust at 7.4% year-on-year, supported by strong growth in the construction sector, reflecting a public investment push in infrastructure projects, in addition to steady growth in the service sector. With inflation cooling during the first half of 2025 to 3.2%, well within 2%-6% target range, the Reserve Bank of India started to cut interest rates from 6.75% in February 2025 to 5.75% in June 2025. Overall, GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was estimated at 7%. While a more stringent fiscal deficit target of 4.4% (4.8% FY 2024-25) will constrain some public investment, a strong domestic market in addition to lower interest rates is expected to support growth.

After growing by 2.5% in 2024, largely driven by 5.6% growth in China as developing ex-China manufacturing outputs stagnated, growth in global manufacturing outputs picked up at approximately 4.3% in the first half of 2025, reflecting some supports from front-loading of activity prior to tariffs. Growth was supported by resilient growth in China despite US tariffs, in addition to a moderate uptick in ex-China growth. Indeed, manufacturing output in China grew by approximately 6.4% year-on-year during the first half, reflecting a resilience in exports. In developing ex-China, after stagnating in 2024, manufacturing output began to gradually pick-up by approximately 2.5% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. During the first half of 2025, while growth in developing ex-China remained robust at approximately 3%, outputs in developed markets grew by approximately 2% after contraction in 2024. However, this was likely due to front-loading of import orders, supporting export-oriented manufacturing countries, including in the EU27 (approximately 1.5% year-on-year) and Developed Asia (approximately 4% year-on-year). Meanwhile, year-on-year growth in developing ex-China was supported by

robust growth in India (3.7%) and resilient