On October 19, the French Steel Federation (FFA) released the latest data regarding crude steel production in France. Accordingly, in September this year French crude steel production amounted to 1,308,850 metric tons, increasing by 4.2 percent year on year and up 27.4 percent as compared to August this year.

In September, steel production in France using electric arc furnaces (EAF) fell 5.1 percent year on year, amounting to 558,950 mt, while steel production with blast furnace (BF) technology totaled 749,900 mt, increasing by 12.3 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, in the first nine months of the current year, France's crude steel production amounted to 11,913,300 mt, increasing by 2.5 percent compared to the same period last year. In this period, steel production in France using electric arc furnaces (EAF) rose 12.7 percent year on year, reaching 4,606,500 mt, while steel production with blast furnace (BF) technology totaled 7,306,800 mt, declining by three percent year on year.

The FFA also noted that domestic crude steel production in the first nine months of the year was 18.3 percent below the January-September 2008 production figures.