(Bloomberg) -- Nucor Corp., the largest U.S. steel producer, said an improving economic outlook is giving it confidence that 2020 will be a positive year for the company.

That’s encouraging speculation that the domestic industry could be turning a corner after steel prices dropped in 2019 by the most in four years. Producers are getting help from low U.S. interest rates that are making homes and other construction projects more affordable, boosting demand.

Charlotte-based Nucor reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded the average estimate of analysts, with the company citing a strong December performance in its steel mills business segment. Last week, Steel Dynamics Inc. reported a profit that topped the highest estimate of analysts and said it sees solid demand for this year.

“We are encouraged by recent economic trends and confident that our positive momentum will continue in 2020,” Leon Topalian, Nucor’s new chief executive officer, said in a statement. “We believe that the inventory destocking that occurred throughout most of 2019 concluded in the fourth quarter, when customers resumed more normal buying patterns.”

Producers including Nucor have been raising prices in a bet on resilient demand.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Deaux in New York at jdeaux@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Luzi Ann Javier at ljavier@bloomberg.net, Pratish Narayanan, Christine Buurma

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