Mittal may hike steel production from Q1

ALMATY/LONDON: Arcelormittal, the world���s largest steelmaker, may increase output next year should a decline in inventories to ���very low��� levels lead to a rebound in demand, chief executive officer Lakshmi Mittal said.

���Inventory levels are very low,��� Mittal said on Friday in an interview in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where he met with government officials. ���If the demand will start improving in the first quarter or the second quarter, we will increase production.���

Russia���s OAO Severstal, Corus, the UK unit of India���s Tata Steel, and Posco, Asia���s biggest maker of stainless steel, have cut production as carmakers and builders slash demand amid a global economic slowdown. Worldwide crude steel production declined 12.4% in October, according to the International Iron and Steel Institute.

���We cut output by 35%, and it was very aggressive for us,��� Mittal said after the scheduled meeting between Kazakh officials and foreign investors. ���I don���t think there will be an additional production cut.��� ArcelorMittal fell 69.5 cents, or 4.1%, to 16.11 euros in afternoon trades on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange.