US Steel Kosice operates on all three furnaces

Slovak steelmaker US Steel Kosice has resumed operation of all three furnaces.

Earlier this week, the company restarted its second blast furnace, which had been idle for 60 days of maintenance in September, meaning all of its units are running. He restarted the first blast furnace, which he says will be idle in early December, earlier this month.

The company has a crude steel production capacity of about 4.5 million tons/year at three furnaces.

Capacity is recovering in response to rising coil prices and increased apparent demand driven by restocking at service centers since December. Argus' daily benchmark for hot rolled coil (HRC) for the northwest of the EU rose from 602.25 euros/t at the end of November to 735.50 euros/t as of Tuesday. During the same period, the main Italian index rose from €602.50/t to €746.50/t.

Large mills have just returned to the market with 780 euro/t hot rolled flat offerings for April delivery, but buyers are concerned that real demand will not be enough to keep current restocking sustainable – plate prices are not rising to the same extent , with service centers selling on the basis of cheaper material in stock rather than replacement in tons.

ArcelorMittal, which led the way in deliveries cuts in the third and fourth quarters of last year, is considering restarting its blast furnace in Asturias, which powers plate and wire rod production.

In the raw materials market, there is also talk of Liberty Steel operating in the spot market, prompting speculation that the company may try to restart the Galati furnace. The company declined to comment on a potential restart. The only operating blast furnace at site number five was put into repair and maintenance in December due to weak demand.

Liberty has also invited some raw material suppliers to tender for the supply of Dunaferr ahead of the resumption of pig iron production at the Hungarian plant, the sources said. Dunaferr stopped both of its furnaces in the third quarter of last year due to high costs and financial problems.