ArcelorMittal to restart Gent furnace as stocks fall

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, will restart its second blast furnace in Gent, Belgium, by mid-August as inventories dwindle and demand edges up, it said in a statement.

But it warned that reopening the blast furnace, which was shut in April due to plunging demand, didn't signal a full recovery, and said the market was set to remain soft for the rest of the year.

"As anticipated, we are beginning to see the expected technical recovery due to de-stocking nearing completion," Marc Vereecke, who heads ArcelorMittal's Gent plant, said on Friday.

"However it is important to emphasize that this does not mean we are going to see a return to the very strong demand of the past few years. Real demand will still be down significantly for the year," Vereecke added.

As the recession depressed global steel demand, ArcelorMittal shut many of its blast furnaces, though it recently said it would restart some after intense destocking since the end of 2008 depleted many producers' inventories.