Reuters reported that ArcelorMittal said on Wednesday it would restart a blast furnace in France, the third resumption announced for its European plants this month.

ArcelorMittal Lorraine will bring its furnace in Florange back into production by mid-August because inventory destocking was nearing completion. It was closed in May in the face of low demand from key auto and construction sector customers.

Since the start of July, the company has announced that blast furnaces in Ghent, Belgium and in Gijon Spain would restart in mid August. All three furnaces are part of the flat carbon business, whose key market is the auto sector.

(Sourced from Reuters)