EU steel production declined slightly

Steel production in the EU-28 fell slightly during March, with an annualized 0.9 percent drop, according to the latest data released by the World Steel Association.

Germany recorded the highest steel output in March. The country produced 3.872 million tons during the month, down 4.4 percent from the country's output of 4.050 million tons in March 2014 on an annualized basis. Hungary recorded the largest production growth. Hungarian steel production increased by 121.4 percent over the previous year.

The lowest steel output was in Croatia. However, Croatia's total crude steel output rose significantly, growing by more than 45 percent from 14,000 tonnes in March 2014 to 20,000 tonnes in March this year.

Belgium, Croatia, Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden all registered year-on-year increases in crude steel production. Greece recorded the largest decline in crude steel production in March 2015, falling 47.6 percent from the previous year.

Cumulative steel production for the first three months in 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, thousand tons (percent): Austria 1995 (-0.7); Belgium 1888 (0.6); Czech Republic 1375 (0.5); Finland 1025 (3.4); France 4024 (-1.7); Germany 11063 (-2.0); Italy 5947 (-10.2); Netherlands 1784 (1.7); Poland 2434 (14.3); UK 3146 (-2.4); Spain 3660 (0.3); Greece 174 (-26.3).