ArcelorMittal to restart Fos BF2 in April

Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal is planning to restart blast furnace 2 at its Fos-sur-Mer site in France in April.

The company had decided to idle the furnace from December, announcing it at the start of November, due to high energy costs, large volume of imports and sluggish demand and prices.

But European coil prices have recovered since December, with mills extending lead times, with many now offering May deliveries.

Sources say that ArcelorMittal is expecting an improved performance of the automotive sector in the coming months, which is why it is bringing back on line most of the capacity it idled in the last months of 2022.

By Lora Stoyanova

Steel production in Europe