ArecelorMittal eyes big car steel price hike-report

FRANKFURT, June 30 (Reuters) - ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS) (MTP.PA) intends to raise prices for automotive steel by around 60 percent in gradual steps to avoid a massive increase next year, a German car magazine reported.

Asked by German car magazine Auto Motor und Sport about potential price increases of 60 percent, the steelmaker's head of automotive operations, Jean-Luc Maurange, said:

"Our costs have risen to that extent. We are seeking progressive ways to adjust prices successively to be able to avoid a big, painful increase in the year ahead."

ArcelorMittal is the world's biggest steelmaker and provides around 23 percent of the steel used by German carmakers, the magazine said. It has half the market for European carmakers.

Maurange said ArcelorMittal had to pass on raw material costs that had nearly doubled over the past 12 months and that carmakers had to do their part to absorb the increase.

"Contracts with our customers typically run for 12 months but nevertheless we are already negotiating with many of them about how we can share these costs," he said.

"In my view that also means that carmakers have to increase their prices to the final consumer, as Renault RENA.PA, Toyota <7203.T and Nissan (7201.T) have already announced," he said. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Quentin Bryar) (michael.shields@thomsonreuters.com, Reuters Messaging: michael.shields.reuters.com@reuters.net; +49 69 7565 1266))