Industry Ministry expects metals markets to improve

A significant improvement in world metals markets is expected in Q2’10, Ukraine’s Minister of Industrial Policy Volodymyr Novytskiy announced December 24. According to a Ministry press release, the Minister made his statement at a meeting to discuss how ZAT ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih might fulfill the conditions of the Anti-Crisis Memorandum in the upcoming year.

According to the Minister, Ukraine’s steel industry has considerable prospects for the upcoming year, 2010. Altogether, the Minister noted, steel output was 30 million tonnes in 2009—82% of the previous year’s output. In addition to being 20-30% better than similar indicators in, say, the EU and the US, this indicator is largely in line with global trends, given that metals output declined across the globe. The one exception was China.