Lakshmi Mittal, group chief executive and one of the world’s richest men, said he believed global steel consumption would rise up to 4 per cent in 2014 after a 3.5 per cent increase last year.
It came as ArcelorMittal, which makes 7 per cent of the world’s steel, reported underlying earnings of $1.91 billion (£1.16bn) for the final quarter of 2013. That outstripped the market consensus forecast of $1.8bn.
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Hide AdThe company forecast a slowdown in consumption growth in China and Brazil, but a 4 per cent expansion in the recovering American market.
It is also expecting a 2 per cent improvement in the European Union after two years of decline.