The world's largest steel maker, AcelorMittal predicted a drop in steel demand in the fourth quarter, and a possible loss due to increasing raw material costs.

The steel output at ArcelorMittal has plunged from 24.8 million ton in Q2 to 19.6 million ton in Q3 by nearly 20%. The production utilization rates also fell from 78% to 71%.

The company attributed slack demand to weak economy in US and Europe coupled with slowdown in China’s growth.