Last week ArcelorMittal continued to send mixed signals to the European market regarding the ongoing production recovery on the continent.

After announcing the restart of a blast furnace in Dunkirk, in northern France, the company also confirmed that other blast furnaces will be restarted during September in Fos-sur-Mer (south of France) and Gijon, in the north of Spain.

While the move is in line with a series of decisions to restart some idled furnaces by different steelmakers, the company was also quick in explaining that it is also idling temporarily a furnace in Ghent, Belgium, for relining.

"The decision [to restart the furnaces] has been taken due to the need to ensure supplies to customers during the revamping of a blast furnace at ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium," the company said in a note.

In addition, ArcelorMittal also added that the outlook remains uncertain. In Spain, for example, it explained that the mill could well continue to operate in the future with only one blast furnace. "ArcelorMittal's management maintains a cautious approach as regards a potential recovery of normal production levels, due to the uncertainty that still exists as a consequence of the economic crisis, aggravated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic," the company said.