Dow Jones: German Crude Steel Production Rises For Third Month In March

Staff Reporters Dow Jones MetalSource Steel
FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--German crude steel production increased for the third consecutive month in March, with capacity utilization of the country's steel mills rising above 90% for the first time since 2011, steel industry association Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl said Wednesday. Steel plants in Germany produced around 3.9 million metric tons of crude steel in March, said the industry group in a written statement. Year-on-year that represents a 3.1% decrease, it added. Compared with the previous month, however, German steel mills produced around 9% more crude steel in March, it said. In the first three months of the year, crude steel production fell around 4.8% to 10.8 million tons, said the industry group. It also said the recent improvement in order intake indicates that the gradual recovery of steel output will continue in the second quarter of the year. Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl last month said 2012 steel production is expected to match the previous year's level, with demand increasing since the beginning of the year after customers engaged in destocking inventories at the end of 2011. Overall, it expects German steel mills to produce around 44 million metric tons in 2012, a tad below the 44.3 million tons produced last year.

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