ArcelorMittal, others fined for price-fixing

The European Commission fined 17 steel producers a total of 518 million euros ($635 million) on Wednesday for running a price-fixing cartel, with industry giant ArcelorMittal hit the hardest.

The European Union's competition watchdog said the companies ran a cartel that lasted 18 years to fix the prices of prestressing steel, the long, curled steel wires used in construction to make foundations, balconies or bridges.

The cartel operated in every member of the European Union except Britain, Ireland and Greece between 1984 and 2002, the commission said.

ArcelorMittal was handed a fine of 276.5 million euros.

"The Commission decision concludes that the producers violated the European Union's ban on cartels and restrictive business practices," the EU body said in a statement.