[JFE Steel Expects 600,000 mt Production Loss as Chiba Flooding, Typhoon Damage Prolong Recovery]

POSCO officially broke ground on its KRW 480 billion ($360 million) No. 8 continuous galvanizing line (8CGL) at its Gwangyang Works in South Korea. Dedicated to processing high-value automotive steel sheets, the new line is strategically designed to expand POSCO's output of advanced high-strength galvanized steel for global automakers undergoing light-weighting and electric vehicle transitions. [SMM Iron Ore]

Pakistan's Pak Steel is considering an investment project to produce rebar and other steel products in Uzbekistan, with prospects for the joint venture discussed between Uzbekistan's Ambassador to Islamabad, Alisher Tukhtaev, and Pak Steel Director Hassan Farid. According to Farid, high electricity costs in Pakistan are weighing on production costs and competitiveness, prompting the company to consider Uzbekistan, where energy resources are more accessible, as a potential site for new production facilities. Other factors under consideration include available industrial zone infrastructure and investor incentives, with Pak Steel also expressing interest in participating in housing, hotel, dam, and transport infrastructure projects in the country.

The European steel industry's annual carbon costs could more than double from around €3.4 billion in 2026 to approximately €8.2 billion in 2031 under proposed revisions to the EU Emissions Trading System, according to estimates published by the European Steel Association EUROFER. EUROFER estimates that carbon costs for conventional blast-furnace steel could rise to around €100/tonne by 2030 and exceed €200/tonne from 2031 as free ETS allowances are progressively reduced. The association warned that the increase could occur even if steelmakers implement currently planned decarbonisation investments. EUROFER called for the transition from free ETS allowances to the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to be aligned with the availability of affordable low-carbon energy, effective carbon-leakage protection, markets for low-carbon steel, access to ferrous scrap and investment support. The association argued that these enabling conditions will not become available uniformly across EU member states. The €8.2 billion figure is EUROFER's industry estimate under the proposed ETS framework and is not an official European Commission forecast. The warning comes as European steelmakers face rising decarbonisation costs alongside weak demand and increasing pressure to finance the transition from conventional blast-furnace production to lower-emission steelmaking.