Severstal Q2 drop in Steel ProductionMOSCOW, July 31 (Reuters) - Severstal (CHMF.MM), Russia's largest steel maker, produced 28 percent less crude steel in the second quarter of 2009 than a year ago as output at its domestic and Italian facilities declined sharply.
Severstal said on Friday second-quarter crude steel production totalled 3.81 million tonnes, while average prices for rolled products fell 41 percent year-on-year to $582 per tonne.
Steel makers in Russia, the world's fourth-largest producer, have suffered from a decline in orders from the construction and automotive sectors.
Severstal's main domestic rivals have reported sharply lower year-on-year second-quarter results this month, although several reported higher production compared with the January-March period. [ID:nLG240072]
Severstal also said its second quarter production was up 0.4 percent from the previous quarter.
In Russia, Severstal's second-quarter crude steel production fell to 2.12 million tonnes, 31 percent less than in the same year-earlier period.
Output at its Italian mills fell 48 percent to 0.46 million tonnes, while North American crude steel production declined 7 percent to 1.23 million tonnes.
Second-quarter coal production rose 35 percent to 1.05 million tonnes.
Severstal's gold mining operations produced 3,456 kg of gold, up 205 percent from the second quarter of 2008.
Severstal did not issue any full-year earnings or production guidance in the statement. (Reporting by Alfred Kueppers, editing by Anthony Barker)
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