ArcelorMittal to shut Belgian furnace til Feb-report

BRUSSELS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), the world's largest steel maker, said on Thursday it will shut down its blast furnace number six at Seraing in Belgium until at least the end of February, Belgian media reported.

Public broadcaster RTBF said the move, which comes only eight months after the furnace was reopened, was due to the financial crisis and a decrease in demand for steel.

A spokesman for ArcelorMittal in London said he was unable to comment immediately on the report, which said ArcelorMittal had already taken similar steps at seven units in Europe.

RTBF said the firm preferred to decrease production in the face of a fall in the global demand for steel rather than reduce prices. It said the closure of the blast furnace would lead to layoffs, but not dismissals.

ArcelorMittal said earlier it was reviewing its expansion programme due to the economic downturn.

"ArcelorMittal's growth strategy remains unchanged," a spokesman said in a statement, adding, "However, the current market situation is prompting us to check the order of priority to be assigned to our different growth projects. We are currently reassessing these priorities."

Further details could follow when ArcelorMittal reports third-quarter results on Nov. 5.

Thursday's Financial Times reported that the company's eight-year $35 billion expansion plan was under review, including its $20 billion project for two new plants in India, on which work could be put back to 2012-2015.

The ArcelorMittal spokesman declined to quantify the size of the company's expansion plans.

Chairman Lakshmi Mittal said in September that the cost of the India project was running beyond $20 billion because of delays in securing regulatory approvals.

ArcelorMittal weathered the initial phase of the financial crisis as steel demand and prices were strong, but the company's shares have dropped 72 percent since their peak on June 6 as the commodity boom ended. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; editing by Leslie Gevirtz)