According to the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom, in June this year Ukraine's average daily pig iron output decreased by 13.4 percent or 10,400 mt compared to May to 67,000 mt, as Ukrainian steel producers continued to cut their outputs due to weak demand and the problems experienced by some local steelmakers with gas and iron ore supplies in the context of acute shortages of working capital.
The decreasing tendency in pig iron production has continued also in July, with the country's average daily pig iron output in the first 12 days of this month dropping further to 62,600 mt.
According to the Metallurgprom data, as of July 1, 10 of Ukraine's 36 operating blast furnaces were idle (28 percent), while four of the country's 21 converters (19 percent), 19 of its 35 open hearth furnaces (54 percent) and eight of its 15 electric furnaces (53 percent) also continued to stand idle.