Because of the weak market demand, European steel mill ArcelorMittal decided to stop its blast furnace A at its Asturias plant in Spain. The production was expected to be suspended until the end of September due to an unstable economy and weak consumer confidence.

ArcelorMittal also mentioned that the imported steel coming from other countries did not be regulated by the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) and therefore competed with European steel, which was also the main reason to make this decision to stop production for a while.