Ukrainian steelmakers’ production costs to increase by UAH 3.4 billion

Ukrainian steel producers are likely to see their annual production costs increased by UAH 3.4 billion (about $427 million) due to higher natural gas prices and growth of iron ore and coke prices, Interfax-Ukraine news agency has reported citing the Ukrainian association of metal producers Metallurgprom.
 
Accordingly, currently, the natural gas price at the border with Russia is $268/1,000 cubic meters, while as of April 1, it will increase to $300-308/1,000 cubic meters, plus the increasing costs of rental payment for natural gas transit. "Only for gas the costs will increase to UAH 2.5 billion," Metallurgprom said.
 
In addition, this year the Ukrainian steel producers are likely to see an annual increase of UAH 900 million for iron ore mining and processing.