In January next year, Ukraine's crude steel production is expected to decrease by 1.4 percent compared to the expected output in December this year to 2.70 million mt, according to the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom.
According to Metallurgprom's forecast, in January pig iron output in Ukraine will total 2.50 million mt, down 1.5 percent compared to the expected December result, while Ukrainian production of rolled steel is expected to total 2.320 million mt, down 7.3 percent month on month.
In January next year, domestic steelmakers will need 610,000 mt of sintering ore, 1.645 million mt of concentrate, 450,000 mt of agglomerate, 700,000 mt of pellets, 940,000 mt of limestone, 1.210 million mt of metallurgical coke and 460,000 mt of steel scrap in order to ensure the planned volumes of production in the given month.In December, Ukrainian companies plan to produce 2.74 million mt of crude steel, 2.54 million mt of pig iron and 2.48 million mt of rolled steel.