Bloomberg quoted Mr Francisco Orduna spokesman of Mexican steelmaker AHMSA as saying that it had been using some coal reserves to offset a drop in output after Hurricane Alex caused flooding at mines and impeded transportation on some roads.

He added that production has normalized. AHMSA reduced output by 25,000 tonnes last week.

AHMSA said on July 12th 2010 that it was evaluating the effects of the storm on short and medium term earnings after some facilities were severely affected.

It may be noted that rain from Hurricane Alex on July 1st 2010 and July 2nd 2010 washed out roads and bridges in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. Hurricane Alex swept through the region in late June 2010. It peaked as a Category 2 hurricane, reaching 100 miles per hour, on June 30th 2010.

AHMSA produces about 3 million tonnes of liquid steel a year.

(Sourced from www.bloomberg.net)