Brussels — ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, says the outlook for 2018 has improved, after a sharp pick-up in steel prices and increased iron-ore shipments helped it deliver higher than expected first-quarter earnings on Friday. The group did not give a specific forecast for its own prospects, but repeated that it expected 2018 global apparent steel consumption, which takes into account inventory changes, to grow by between 1.5% and 2.5%. Demand appeared strong, notably in the US, Europe and Brazil, and the spread between the price of steel and its raw materials was healthy, ArcelorMittal said. "The outlook for 2018 has strengthened as the year has progressed, with the combination of growing demand and supply-side reform driving higher capacity utilisation rates and healthy steel spreads globally," CEO Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement. First-quarter core profit, or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda), the figure most closely watched b...
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