Brazilian steel
production rose 17.6 percent in February as steelmakers increased output to meet domestic demand, the Brazilian Steel Institute (IBS) said.
Brazil's steel output rose to 2.51 million metric tons from 2.13 million metric tons in February 2006.
For the first two months of this year, Brazilian crude steel output was up 10.7 percent to 5.21 million metric tons from 4.71 million metric tons in the first two months of 2006.