UPDATE 2-Mechel signs $2.6 bln refinancing deals

* Mechel (MTL.N) refinances $1.6 bln of Yakutugol loan

* Also refinances $1 bln of Oriel Resources loan

* Analyst says current debt woes solved

(Adds analyst comment)

By Alfred Kueppers

MOSCOW, July 13 (Reuters) - Russian steel and coking coal producer Mechel (MTL.N) has signed agreements to refinance $2.6 billion of short-term credit facilities, the company said on Monday, solving some of its immediate debt concerns.

"For the moment the debt problem is solved, but we could see some additional debt issues later this year," Uralsib analyst Nikolay Sosnovsky said, adding that future fund-raising moves would depend on the company's operating cash flow.

Mechel could raise up to 75 billion roubles ($2.34 billion) via bond issues, it said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month.

Steel makers in Russia, the world's fourth-largest steel producing nation, racked up more than $30 billion in debts making acquisitions and expanding production capacity during the pre-crisis steel boom. [ID:nLU975877]

Mechel is one of Russia's most heavily indebted steel companies, with a total debt of $5.8 billion as of March 31. In addition to boosting domestic output, it has bought companies in Kazakhstan, Romania, the United States and other countries in recent years.

The company had breached covenants on $4.2 billion worth of loans, forcing it to reclassify the debt as short-term prior to the refinancing agreement. [ID:nLO257501]

Mechel said on Friday it expected to sign the agreements this week. [ID:nLA583218]

As a result of the refinancing, the $2.6 billion loans have now been classified as long-term debt, the company said.

Mechel refinanced $1.6 billion of a $2 billion facility used to acquire coal miner Yakutugol, after having already paid the remainder.

It will pay an interest rate 6 percent above LIBOR and must repay the loan in equal monthly instalments from September 2009 to December 2012.

Mechel, controlled by billionaire Igor Zyuzin, also refinanced $1 billion of a $1.5 billion loan used to acquire chrome miner Oriel Resources. The new loan has an interest rate of LIBOR plus 7 percent and must be repaid in equal monthly instalments from July 2010 to December 2012.

It repaid the rest of the amount by tapping a Gazprombank loan. ($1=32.03 Rouble) (Reporting by Alfred Kueppers and Simon Jessop)