MT Arcelor Mittal New

By Pierre Bertrand

ArcelorMittal said Tuesday that its idled blast furnace in northwest Spain will resume operating though at a reduced capacity from next week.

The blast furnace A at its plant in Asturias will resume operations on Monday, having been idled since the end of September due to unfavorable market conditions that have since slightly recovered, a spokesperson for the Luxembourg-based steelmaker's Spanish operations said.

The furnace was one of several European facilities at which ArcelorMittal either reduced operations or idled as high energy prices in 2022 met declining demand and prices for steel on the continent.

In September, ArcelorMittal said the furnace was idled to protect the company's profitability in Asturias.

"There's no decision taken about a tentative restart at Sestao yet," the company said of its separately idled steelworks plant near Bilbao, northern Spain.

Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2023 08:53 ET (13:53 GMT)

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