Major Italian steelmakers have halted or are progressively shutting down production as surging electricity and gas prices make operations economically unsustainable, industry lobby Federacciai said on Tuesday.
The association said in a statement that high energy costs were undermining the competitiveness of Italian steelmakers compared with European rivals.
Federacciai, which did not name the companies halting operations, warned of repercussions for the entire industry.
It said Italy’s steel industry was among Europe’s most decarbonised but also among the hardest hit by high energy costs.
Low gas storage levels in Europe and disruptions caused by the Iran war pushed the benchmark Dutch front-month contract to a high of over €104 ($116.75) per megawatt-hour (MWh) last month.
Federacciai said it would seek a meeting with trade unions in the coming days to discuss the situation and its impact on the sector’s competitiveness.
The Italian government on Monday approved measures to curb the impact of rising gas prices on power bills for households and businesses, with critics saying they would only have a marginal impact.
($1 = 0.8908 euros)
(Writing by Francesca Piscioneri; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Joe Bavier)
