The company has also kept its Spanish Sestao electric arc furnace-based coils mill off line, given weak demand and high energy costs.

OMH H1 profit jumps to RM268.9 million

The producer will also stop a direct reduction plant in Hamburg, where it produces wire rod, from the fourth quarter.

European market leader ArcelorMittal is idling blast furnace A at its Asturias plant in Spain in response to weak demand.

Part of what will lead to increasing prices will be rising costs both for raw materials and energy, according to Kestenbaum.

Swedish start-up H2 Green Steel has raised €190mn ($189mn) in a financing round, for its initiative to decarbonise steel production by around 95pc using renewable hydrogen.

South Korean ferrous scrap imports fell by 24pc from a year earlier in July because of cheaper domestic scrap and high inventory levels.

More European steelmakers are announcing increases following ArcelorMittal's announcement last week.