Steel titan ArcelorMittal (MT) confirmed Friday it plans to extend for another six months the partial idling of its Florange steel plant until the end of 2012 because of protracted weakness in European steel demand.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker by volume, had previously said that it would review the demand situation toward the end of the second quarter to determine whether to restart crude steel production at its Florange, France steel plant. But in a Paris meeting with union representatives Friday, the company confirmed that it planned to extend the partial idling of its Florange steel plant until the end of the year due to weak demand.

"The European market is not showing signs of improvement and the fourth quarter is traditionally a weaker quarter," an ArcelorMittal spokeswoman said in an emailed statement related to the company's plan to extend the partial idling.

ArcelorMittal last year shut down two blast furnaces at Florange, France, in response to weak steel demand, but kept operating the other facilities at the plant including the hot and cold rolling mills, a coke plant, and coating lines. Florange can produce up to 1.4 million metric tons of crude steel annually.

European steelmakers are suffering from falling prices and weak steel demand. Steelmakers had initially expected demand to pick up in the second quarter but steel users have been cautious about buying more steel given worries that the European sovereign debt crisis will take its toll on the European Union's economy and therefore demand for automobiles and infrastructure in the construction sector.

"The industry, which continues to be impacted by structural overcapacities, is a long way from the recovery that we had hoped for in early 2012," said Wolfgang Eder, the chief executive of Austrian specialty steelmaker Voestalpine AG (VOE.VI).

"Massive underutilization of capacity in Europe...is resulting in destructive price wars," he added.

ArcelorMittal, Europe's largest steelmaker, said earlier this month that it had idled seven of its 25 European furnaces and 17 of its 63 blast furnaces worldwide.

Meanwhile, Tata Steel Ltd. (500470.BY), Europe's second-largest steel producer by production capacity, has also idled a blast furnace in Scunthorpe, U.K., and has temporarily idled a hot strip steel mill at the Llanwern site in South Wales.

EU apparent steel demand is forecast to fall 2.7% in 2012 before rising 2.5% in 2013, according to Eurofer, Europe's steel association.

ArcelorMittal said it remains committed to its socially responsible approach at Florange and will continue to work with "employee representatives to implement all measures to support the affected employees."

-By Alex MacDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20 7842 9328; alex.macdonald@dowjones.com