VIENNA, April 20 (Reuters) - Severstal CHMF.MM, Russia's largest steel maker, expects domestic steel demand to fall by 25 percent in 2009 from last year, the head of strategic planning at the company, Andrei Laptev, said on Monday.
“The automotive sector could be the hardest hit ... production of cars and buses has decreased by 70 percent,” Laptev said at the CRU 15th World Steel Conference.
Russian steel producers have been hard hit by the financial crisis, which has crimped orders for construction materials and durable goods such as autos and plant equipment. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh; writing by Alfred Kueppers and Peter Blackburn)
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