Brazil's crude steel output up in February

Brazil’s crude steel output up in February

Brazil's crude steel production rose 0.8% year on year to 2.59 million tons in February 2005, according to preliminary data released by the Brazilian Steel Association IBS. The country's crude steel production amounted to 5.2 million tons in the first two months of 2005, down 1.2% compared to the same period last year. Brazil's flat steel production rose 0.6% year on year to 1.83 million tons during February. On the other hand, year-to-date production remained unchanged at 3.7 million tons. Pig iron production totaled 2.8 million tons in the aforementioned period, up 3.7% year on year. For the first two months, pig iron production saw a year-on-year increase of 1.8% to 5.6 million tons.