German factory orders dropped the most in almost three years in November, as the euro-region economy edged toward a recession and global demand weakened. Orders, adjusted for seasonal swings and inflation, slipped 4.8 percent from October, when they surged a revised 5 percent, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said in a statement today.

In the U.S., export orders rose in December to the highest level in three months, according to manufacturer reports compiled by the Institute for Supply Management in Tempe, Arizona. Production and overall orders were the best since April.

U.S. steel production reached 2.64 million metric tons in November, 19 percent more than a year earlier, according to the latest data from the Brussels-based World Steel Association. That's the highest single-month output since September 2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Low Steel Inventories

Steel inventories have remained low, "which suggests a realistic chance of an ongoing U.S. real and apparent demand-led recovery in 2012," Credit Suisse Group AG analysts led by London-based Michael Shillaker wrote in a Jan. 5 report.

The price of North American hot-rolled coil steel, an industry benchmark, has advanced 9.4 percent to $700 a ton since the final week of November, according to Steel Business Briefing. That compares with a 2 percent decline in European import prices to 485 euros ($618) a ton.

U.S. Steel Corp., the largest U.S. producer, will report net income of $367.5 million this year, compared with $24.7 million in 2011, according to the median of nine analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Shares of the Pittsburgh-based company fell 55 percent last year, the worst performance since 2008. They will advance 10 percent to $31.39 in the next 12 months, based on the average of 14 analyst estimates.

Improving Car Sales

Stepped-up consumption of steel is driven partly by improving car sales. Demand at Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC exceeded analysts' forecasts in December, according to data released Jan. 4. Ford's U.S. sales climbed 10 percent from a year earlier, while purchases were up 37 percent for Chrysler and 4.5 percent for GM.

The increase is paced by improving employment, Don Johnson, GM vice president for U.S. sales, said on a conference call with analysts. "Consumers are more confident and other underpinnings of our economy are either stable or slowly improving," he said on Jan. 4.