According to the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom, in December 2010 Ukraine's average daily pig iron output continued its positive trend, which started in Q3 2010, registering a small increase of 0.65 percent or 500 mt compared to November to 77,600 mt.
As a result, Ukraine's average daily pig iron output in 2010 increased to 74,900 mt from 70,300 mt in 2009 - up 6.54 percent.
In the first 10 days of January 2011, the country's average daily pig iron output went up further to 79,900 mt.
According to the Metallurgprom data, as of January 11, five of Ukraine's 36 operating blast furnaces were idle, while three of the country's 21 converters, 18 of its 35 open hearth furnaces and eight of its 15 electric furnaces also continued to stand idle.