BRUSSELS (Reuters) – ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest steelmaker, forecast a faster than expected recovery in demand and prices at the start of 2011 after a margin squeeze in the fourth quarter.

The Luxembourg-based company, which makes 6-7 percent of the world’s steel, said on Tuesday core profit would improve in the first quarter by more than the market consensus, following an unexpected net loss in the final three months of 2010.

Chief Financial Officer Aditya Mittal said ArcelorMittal was seeing a strong recovery in the United States, moderate growth in China and restocking in Europe even though end-user demand was barely increasing there.

Mittal said the company expected 2011 to be a better year than 2010 and would raise capital expenditure by more than 50 percent this year.

He said the second quarter should be stronger than the first, when ArcelorMittal’s furnaces would run at 76 percent of capacity, compared with 69 percent at the end of 2010.

“There is some risk that in the second half of 2011 the strength that we are seeing in the first half will not repeat, but I still expect overall the year to be better,” he said.

ArcelorMittal, whose production is more than double that of its nearest rival, said it expected core profit (EBITDA) to rise to between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in the first quarter after a slump to $1.85 billion in the final quarter of 2010.

BRUSSELS, Feb 8 (Reuters) – ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world’s largest steelmaker, will show on Tuesday the extent to which recovering steel prices have been making up for a surge in iron ore and coal costs after a sharp squeeze late last year.

The Luxembourg-based company, which makes 6-7 percent of the world’s steel, was expected to forecast an improved first-quarter profit after steel prices pulled off mid-November lows and demand increased slightly. [ID:nLDE71216H]

The $500 billion steel sector has been caught in a margin squeeze since the middle of last year when raw material costs began to increase but steel prices dropped while industry as a whole took a breather.

Spot prices for Chinese iron ore imports rose 15 percent from mid-2010 to early November while U.S. hot rolled steel cord prices fell 16 percent, according to Platts.

Since then, ore is up another 22 percent but steel prices are 49 percent higher — with demand gradually improving in key automotive and construction markets after the mid-2010 pause.

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Steel vs iron price graphic: r.reuters.com/pam87r

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Euro zone retail sales unexpectedly fell in December with equal declines in food and non-food sectors, a sign that consumers in the single currency bloc were reluctant to splurge even in the key holiday period.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said on Thursday retail sales in the 16 countries using the euro fell by 0.6 percent month-on-month, for a 0.9 percent year-on-year decline.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.5 percent month-on-month rise and a 0.2 percent increase year-on-year.

The new data came while European Central Bank policymakers met to decide on interest rates. Economists said they did not expect weak retail sales to prevent the ECB from issuing a warning on inflationary pressures.

The largest decreases were in Malta, Slovenia, Ireland, and Lithuania and the greatest increases in Portugal and Poland.

A number of European retailers, including Germany’s Metro, Carrefour and Tesco, have said snow and freezing temperatures across the region in December hit sales, particularly for non-food items.

However, economists have pointed to factors showing that the recovery in Germany and particularly in manufacturing has not fed through to all households.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The threat of a long period of high inflation in Europe is worrying policymakers and business leaders because in contrast to the past decade, much of the inflationary pressure may come from Germany.

In the 12 years since the single currency was launched in 1999, euro zone inflation has frequently been above the European Central Bank’s target of just below 2 percent, but it has only held at or above 2.5 percent for two periods exceeding a month.

Sluggish growth and prices in Germany, where consumer price numbers account for just over a quarter of the weighting for euro zone inflation data, generally offset rapid inflation in smaller states such as Ireland and Spain.

Now, however, high wage demands in Europe’s largest economy, loose monetary policy and rising food and fuel prices may create the opposite situation: an extended period of inflationary pressure with much of it stemming from Germany.

“It’s a reversal of the first 10 years of the euro,” said Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING.

Anton Boerner, head of the BGA, Germany’s foreign trade association, told Reuters this month that German inflation risked accelerating to between 4 and 6 percent by 2013/2014.

Commerzbank estimated euro zone inflation could climb from a projected 2.1 percent this year to between 3 and 4 percent in the period 2015-2020.

LUXEMBOURG, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Demand for steel in the developed world will only return to pre-crisis levels in 2015, the head of the world’s largest steelmaker said on Tuesday.

Lakshmi Mittal, speaking after an investor meeting to approve the spin-off of ArcelorMittal’s (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) stainless business, said he believed global growth in output would slow to 6 to 6.5 percent this year, from some 15 percent in 2010.

Chinese growth would temper to 6.5 to 7 percent from some 9 percent last year.

Demand in the developed world shot up by some 20 percent last year but only from very depressed levels in 2009.

“To come back to before the 2008 crisis, it will not be before 2015. The developed market demand still has a long way to go,” Mittal said. “In 2009, steel demand dropped by almost 50 percent.

“I think American demand will improve more than the European demand.”

Mittal spoke after ArcelorMittal shareholders backed the spin-off of its stainless steel division, creating a company called Aperam hoping to profit from surging emerging market for cutlery and other rust-free products.

LUXEMBOURG, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Developed world demand for steel will only return to pre-crisis levels in 2015, the head of the world’s largest steelmaker said on Tuesday after an investor meeting to approve the spin-off of its stainless business.

Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive officer and chairman of ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), told Reuters he believed global steel output would slow to 6 to 6.5 percent this year, from some 15 percent in 2010.

Chinese growth would temper to 6.5 to 7 percent from some 9 percent last year. Developed world steel demand shot up by some 20 percent last year, but Mittal noted that this was from very depressed levels in 2009.

“To come back to before the 2008 crisis, it will not be before 2015. The developed market demand still has a long way to go to come to pre-crisis levels,” Mittal said. “In 2009, steel demand dropped by almost 50 percent.

“I think American demand will improve more than the European demand.”

Mittal spoke after ArcelorMittal shareholders on Tuesday backed the spin-off of its stainless steel division, creating a company hoping to profit from surging emerging market for cutlery and other rust-free products.

ArcelorMittal also announced on Tuesday that shareholders representing 61 percent of Baffinland shares had tendered to the bid for the giant Arctic iron ore deposit, and that it had extended the C$1.50-a-share offer until Feb. 4. [ID:nN25176231] (Editing by Rex Merrifield)

LUXEMBOURG, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Developed world demand for steel will only return to pre-crisis levels in 2015, the head of the world’s largest steelmaker said on Tuesday after an investor meeting to approve the spin-off of its stainless business.

Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive officer and chairman of ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), told Reuters he believed global steel output would slow to 6 to 6.5 percent this year, from some 15 percent in 2010.

Chinese growth would temper to 6.5 to 7 percent from some 9 percent last year. Developed world steel demand shot up by some 20 percent last year, but Mittal noted that this was from very depressed levels in 2009.

“To come back to before the 2008 crisis, it will not be before 2015. The developed market demand still has a long way to go to come to pre-crisis levels,” Mittal said. “In 2009, steel demand dropped by almost 50 percent.

“I think American demand will improve more than the European demand.”

Mittal spoke after ArcelorMittal shareholders on Tuesday backed the spin-off of its stainless steel division, creating a company hoping to profit from surging emerging market for cutlery and other rust-free products.

ArcelorMittal also announced on Tuesday that shareholders representing 61 percent of Baffinland shares had tendered to the bid for the giant Arctic iron ore deposit, and that it had extended the C$1.50-a-share offer until Feb. 4. [ID:nN25176231] (Editing by Rex Merrifield)

BRUSSELS, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Belgian supermarket group Delhaize (DELB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) narrowly missed market forecasts for quarterly revenue after the declining sales trend in the United States, its main market, did not ease as much as expected.

In a release almost 12 hours earlier than expected, the retailer said fourth-quarter revenue rose 7.6 percent, or 1.5 percent at identical exchange rates, to 5.24 billion euros ($7.03 billion), against expectations of 5.26 billion euros in a Reuters poll of 13 analysts.

No one at Delhaize was available to explain why the figures had been released early.

In the United States, where Delhaize generates 70 percent of its sales, like-for-like revenue fell by 0.8 percent against expectations for a 0.5 percent fall. That compared with a 1.8 percent drop in the third quarter.

Delhaize said that its more cost-conscious Food Lion stores, mostly in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, were improving, while Hannaford, a more upmarket chain operating in the Northeast, had an outstanding quarter. Inflation had also returned.

Dutch peer Ahold (AHLN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said earlier on Thursday it had seen tough trading in its main U.S. market. [ID:nLDE70I151].

Comparable sales in Delhaize’s other main market, Belgium, rose by 3.8 percent, double the consensus expectation of 1.9 percent, with market share gains and strong holiday sales despite cold and snow.

BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Belgium scrapped a debt auction on Tuesday in favour of a 10-year bond sale via banks, a day after fiscally stretched euro zone peer Spain did the same to take advantage of a dip in borrowing costs.

Belgium, under financial market scrutiny over a public sector debt almost as large as its annual economic output and politically deadlocked for seven months, is expected to issue between 4 and 5 billion euros of bonds ($5.3-6.7 billion).

Belgium becomes the latest highly indebted euro zone state to take advantage of more benign market conditions. Spain sold a 10-year bond via a syndicate on Monday, while Portugal said it also plans a syndicated placement this quarter. [ID:nLDE70G0T8]

The Belgian debt agency, which has sold 10-year benchmark bonds for the past five years, was encouraged by the success of Spain’s issue, agency director Anne Leclercq told Reuters.

“It gave us a lot of confidence,” Leclercq said, adding that the order books looked promising by late morning. “The last figure was above 5 billion (euros), so it’s a good sign.”

A source at one of the lead managers later said orders had reached nearly 7 billion euros, with the book due to close at 1300 GMT and price talk unchanged from launch.

Borrowing costs have fallen in the past week on talk of an expanded euro zone bailout fund, heavy buying of government bonds by the European Central Bank, and successful bond auctions by Portugal, Spain and Italy last week.

BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Belgium will gauge investor appetite for its borrowing on Tuesday for the second time this year in a key test for a country whose high debt levels and lack of a new government have concerned investors.

Belgium, under financial market scrutiny over a public sector debt almost as large as its annual output and a record seven months of political deadlock, will issue three-month and 12-month treasury certificates on Tuesday.

Yields for the more frequently sold three-month paper could be similar to the 0.661 percent at the auction two weeks ago, based on trading on Monday.

The auction could be a precursor for a new 10-year benchmark bond the country’s debt agency wishes to issue through a syndicate of banks.

Belgium was largely untouched by the euro zone’s sovereign debt crisis until late November, when concerns struck about contagion from Ireland, Greece and other troubled economies.

Market actors began to view political paralysis as undermining debt cutting efforts, but caretaker Prime Minister Yves Leterme has dismissed talk Belgium might need any EU bailout [ID:nLDE70B0RY] and pledged to tighten the 2011 budget.

Analysts believe Belgium, which is still no nearer to having a new government, will have no trouble with its short-term money auction, although placing a bond would be a sterner test.