Latin American steel output down 3.4 percent in '06

Latin America's crude steel output in the first two months of 2006 was 9.80 million mt, down 3.4 percent from the same period last year, reported the Latin American Iron and Steel Institute (Ilafa). Brazil, Latin America's largest steel producer, saw their crude steel output drop to 4.7 million mt, from 5.2 million metric tons produced in the first two months of 2005. Latin American iron production also fell 5.9 percent to 9.51 million mt. The region's hot rolled steel production, however, grew 7.5 percent from the same period last year, to 8.3 million mt.