ArcelorMittal expects further steel price increases

ArcelorMittal believes that steel prices will rise further in the rest of 2008, as steel producers pass on continued cost increases to consumers, company CEO Lakshmi Mittal said.

This view is supported by a tight supply and demand situation, with consumption continuing to grow rapidly in developing economies, he added. Prices have not yet peaked, as cost increases are still coming in, the CEO explained. While coal base prices have been fixed, iron ore contract negotiations with Chinese steelmakers have not yet concluded, energy prices continue to increase, and scrap prices are now around $700/tonne, he said. Separately, it has emerged that at least one steel mill has been badly damaged by the earthquake in Sichuan, China.

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