ArcelorMittal, the world's largest producer of steel, has forecast that the global demand for steel will stabilise as it reported improved quarterly results, said a report.

The company said it expected global steel consumption to stabilise this year and either match consumption in 2015 or rise by 0.5 per cent, added the Iran Daily News report.

It raised its outlook for steel demand in China this year.

Arcelor reported a net loss of $416 million for the three months to the end of March — in the same period last year it reported a $669 million loss.

Arcelor's improved outlook comes as Tata Steel seeks a buyer for its UK operations, which are losing £1 million a day.

Tata has blamed China for depressed steel prices, saying the nation has not cut production in response to falling demand for steel.

While ArcelorMittal does not have exposure to the Chinese market, its position as the world's largest steel producer means its forecasts for steel consumption are closely watched.

In China, it said it expected consumption to either stay the same as last year or fall by around 1 per cent.

But this was an improvement from a previous forecast of a fall in consumption of around 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent.

ArcelorMittal kept its earnings forecast for 2016 unchanged, added the report.