Russian steel consumption rises in 2006

According to the preliminary results for 2006, steel product consumption in the Russian domestic market increased by 20 percent year on year to more than 33 million metric tons. Breaking down this figure geographically, the consumption of steel products increased by 33 percent in the Ural region, by 19 percent in the Moscow region, by 35 percent in the Siberian Federal Region, by 17 percent in the Central Federal Region, and by 20 percent in the South Federal Region. The domestic steelmakers, for their part, increased their consumption of scrap in 2006 as well. Thus, during last year scrap consumption increased by 15 percent year on year to 21 million metric tons. On the other hand, the level of pig iron consumption continued to decrease in 2006. According to the preliminary data, pig iron consumption decreased by four percent year on year to 900,000 metric tons during the year in question.