EU hot metal output rebounding: Tathya Earth

European hot metal production reached its highest level since the first week of July in the week to 25 February, according to data from analytics platform Tathya Earth.

Tathya uses satellite imagery, data and machine learning to track European hot metal output.

The company's hot metal index hit 92.57 in week 8, 19-25 February, up slightly from 91.33 the previous week. Tathya began tracking European hot metal output in January 2020, with an index reading of 100.

The index consistently remained below 90 from week 33 last year (14-20 August) until week 1 of this year, as European mills reduced their blast furnace production in response to weak demand and elevated costs.

The recent increase has been driven by global steelmaker ArcelorMittal, as well as German firm ThyssenKrupp and some others, Tathya's co-founder, Himangshu Das, told Argus.

Production at Tata Steel's Ijmuiden mill in the Netherlands has been trending down in recent weeks, while output at the company's plant in Port Talbot, UK has not shown any major uptrend in the past 3-4 months. Port Talbot has older blast furnaces, with one approaching the end of its useful life.

Activity at smaller European mills in the Visegrad region has increased in recent months. Production has risen at Liberty's Galati and Ostrava plants — in Romania and the Czech Republic respectively — as has output from Slovakian steelmaker US Steel Kosice. The firm is operating all three of its furnaces now, but output remains lower than in the fourth quarter, according to Tathya data.

By Colin Richardson