Rising prices and sales boosted profits at the world’s top steelmaker ArcelorMittal, which said yesterday hat it sees global demand continuing to rise despite a spate of tariffs, reports AFP from Paris.

Second quarter net profit shot up 41 per cent compared to the same period last year to $1.9 billion (1.6 billion euros), while sales climbed 16 per cent to $20 billion.

The results — sales, net profit, operating profit — all beat the consensus expectation of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

“The outlook for the second half of the year is encouraging as we anticipate current favourable market conditions continuing and are well positioned to capitalise on this from our leadership position across many key markets,” said ArcelorMital’s chief executive Lakshmi Mittal in the company’s earnings statement.