According to the latest figures issued by the French Steel Federation (FFA), France's steel production in May remained more or less stable year on year, falling just 0.8 percent to 1.83 million metric tons.
Of this figure, blast furnace production accounted for 1.109 million metric tons, down 1.7 percent from May 2006, Meanwhile, EAF output climbed 0.6 percent year on year to 721,000 metric tons.
For the first five months of 2007, total French steel output came to 8.92 million metric tons, up 0.7 percent year on year. For the period in question, EAF steel production in France reached 3.48 million metric tons, up five percent compared to Jan-May 2006. Meanwhile, blast furnace production for Jan-May 2007 totaled 5.44 million metric tons, down 1.9 percent year on year.