<article><p class="lead">ArcelorMittal is adapting operations at its Dunkirk facility in France to one furnace "with the aim of limiting the impact on customers as much as possible", it said today.</p><p>A fire broke out at the site's largest blast furnace, number four, on Thursday afternoon, but was extinguished in under an hour. The unit has a capacity of around 3.6mn t/yr, representing over half of the site's installed capacity of 7mn t/yr.</p><p>The company said it "must wait for the results of the expert assessments before deciding on the timeframe for restarting the plant". It was the second fire to affect ArcelorMittal in eight days, after a previous fire engulfed one of its Aviles furnaces in Spain, where the damage is expected to be more serious.</p><p>The disruption comes at a pivotal moment for the European hot-rolled coil market. <i>Argus</i>' benchmark north European index has risen from €602.25/t at the end of November to over €840/t in recent days, supported predominantly by restocking from service centres and the automotive chain. But activity has fallen dramatically of late, with buyers withdrawing. At the same time, mills are well sold, with some already offering July-August arrival HRC, where more typical lead times are 4-8 weeks. Should the Dunkirk furnace be off line for a prolonged period, it would likely heighten the supply disruption currently seen in the market.</p><p class="bylines">By Colin Richardson</p></article>
