Company: MT
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001243429-25-000017
Chunk: 169

Company: ArcelorMittal
Filing Date: 2025-03-10
Form: 20-F
Chunk 169
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 faster than raw material prices in both the third and fourth quarters of 2022, with significant compression of spreads. However, the fourth quarter of 2022 was the peak of the destocking cycle and inventory levels across ArcelorMittal’s main markets fell to low levels. As destocking began to end during the first quarter of 2023, apparent demand improved from the lows of the fourth quarter of 2022 and led to a recovery in steel prices and spreads. However, with economic growth weakening across the Company's core developed markets, due to the lagged impact of interest rate rises, elevated steel prices and spreads unwound during the second and third quarters of 2023, thus negatively impacting the results of the third and fourth quarters of 2023, due to the significant lag between transactions and deliveries, especially for flat products. Prices and spreads in the Company's core markets remained relatively weak through 2024, as apparent steel demand stabilized at historically low levels in both Europe and the U.S. Volatility on steel margins aside, the results of the Company’s Mining segment (which sells externally as well as internally) are directly impacted by iron ore prices. See " —Raw materials—Iron ore" . T he Company believes current prices are unsustainable over the medium term, if as expected, Chinese steel demand weakens further, which would lead to further falls in iron ore prices and negatively impact ArcelorMittal’s revenues and profitability. See also “Introduction—Risk factors and control— Risks related to the global economy and the mining and steel industry—Prolonged low steel and (to a lesser extent) iron ore prices, low steel demand and/or steel/iron ore oversupply would have an adverse effect on ArcelorMittal’s results of operations.” Economic environment The global economy has undergone several years of negative shocks, starting from COVID-19’s disruption in 2020-21, followed by subsequent high inflation, exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and to curb inflation, a sharp rise in interest rates occurred through 2023, particularly in developed economies. As a result, global GDP growth slowed to 2.8% in 2023 , from 3.3% in 2022 and 6.5% in 2021. During 2024, global growth remained stable, yet subdued. Inflation continued to wane globally, making progress toward central bank targets, even though price pressures persisted in some developed countries during the first half of 2024,