He wouldn’t say if he’d make another offer for US Steel if the Nippon deal collapsed.

“My understanding is steel consumers, steel customers are much happier with Nippon as the buyer,” Wolfe Research analyst Timna Tanners said at the Tampa Steel Conference.

Nucor acknowledges it was interested in acquiring some of United States Steel's assets, but dropped out of the bidding near the end over concerns about the price.

Nucor shares have added about 0.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 2.5%.

Nippon Steel declined to comment on the possible issuance of bonds and new shares.

Global mining giant BHP announced on Friday that it has kicked off a commercial-scale direct reduced iron production project with China Baowu Steel Group Corporation to support steelmaking decarbonization development in China.

The European Commission's "preferred option" for the EU's 2040 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target is 90-95pc — from 1990 levels — according to a draft document.

The UK government is putting Tata Steel at a disadvantage compared with its European peers with the comparatively low level of funding it is providing to help the company decarbonise.