Ukraine’s biggest steelmaker Metinvest said it will cut output of iron and merchant slab at its Azovstal plant in December due to low demand and unfavorable prices.

Iron production will be lower by 13.7% or by 58,700 tonnes MoM and merchant slab production will be 29% or 50,600 tonnes lower than planned for December.

Metinvest will also cut its production plans for the first quarter of next year.

Azovstal, located in eastern Ukraine, gave no information about its November output.

Metinvest said earlier this month steel output at its Ukraine's plants rose 78.7 percent to 10.981 million tonnes in January-September 2011 against the same period in 2010.

Liquid steel output at plants owned by Metinvest increased to 9.27 million tonnes in 2010 from 7.03 million in 2009. Rolled steel output rose 31.3 percent to 8.59 million tonnes in 2010 from 6.54 million a year earlier.

(Sourced fro Reuters)