According to Tathya Earth, the European hot metal production index declined to 89.02 in the week ended April 8. This is the lowest level since the last week of January when a number of furnaces were suspended because of low demand in the market.

In France, ArcelorMittal's Dunkirk plant's No. 4 blast furnace had a fire at the end of March, which let the production sharply fall. This furnace accounts for more than 50% of the plant's total capacity. The subindex for Dunkirk dropped to 0.089, hitting the lowest since the fourth week of January.

Besides, ArcelorMittal's Gijon site also kept depressed, with the subindex presenting at zero, the lowest point since the tracking data begin.