German steel sector begins 2007 strongly

Data from Germany's Federal Statistical Office show that the country's crude steel output rose 25.6 percent year on year to 4.32 million metric tons in January. Pig iron output for the same month increased 22.7 percent year on year to 2.74 million metric tons. Compared to the previous month, January crude steel production rose 12.2 percent while pig iron production increased 5.7 percent.