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ArcelorMittal to Maintain Current Flat Products Pricing in Europe
06/25/2007 - Looking forward to what it is believes will be a robust European market for flat products, ArcelorMittal announces it will maintain current pricing for flat products for the third quarter in Europe.
Looking forward to what it is believes will be a robust European market for flat products, ArcelorMittal has announced it will maintain current pricing for flat products for the third quarter in Europe
“Despite robust economic growth in Western Europe, a continuously buoyant steel market in Eastern Europe and increasing tension on the iron ore and scrap markets, we do not intend to increase our prices in Q3 in order to maintain a sustainable market environment for our customers and a healthy inventory level,” said Christophe Cornier, CEO of ArcelorMittal's Flat Carbon Europe division.
The company remains confident about the demand for carbon steel products in Europe for the second half of the year. “Our forecast for Auto, Construction, Mechanical Equipment, Power Generation, Oil and Gas and the Tube industry in Europe is very robust. We expect that this year will continue as strongly as it has started,” said Mr. Cornier.
ArcelorMittal said that its output to the European market will be 3 to 4% lower in volume in Q3 than in Q2 as a result of mill outages related to necessary repair and inspection work. This will help to reduce the level of inventory on the market, which is slightly inflated due to a recent surge of imports.
ArcelorMittal is the world's largest steel company, with 320,000 employees in more than 60 countries. Bringing together the former Arcelor and Mittal Steel, ArcelorMittal leads a number of major global markets, including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with leading R&D and technology, as well as sizeable captive supplies of raw materials and outstanding distribution networks. An industrial presence in 27 European, Asian, African and American countries exposes the company to all the key steel markets, from emerging to mature, positions it will be looking to develop in the high-growth Chinese and Indian markets.
