Italian steelmakers halting production due to high energy costs, industry group says

ROME, Nov 10 (Reuters) - 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)