New Delhi, July 15 - In what may be seen as an early sign of economic recovery, use of steel in the country rose 5.2 percent to 12.83 million tonnes in the first quarter of this fiscal from 12.2 million tonnes in the same period a year ago.

Steel production increased 3.4 percent to 13.98 million tonnes during Arpil-May 2009, compared to 13.53 million tonnes in the same period the previous fiscal.

State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) increased production by 3.73 percent to 3.06 million tonnes during April-June, compared to 2.95 million tonnes in the same period last fiscal.

Another public sector unit, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), also upped production by 2.09 percent to 685,000 tonnes from 671,000 tonnes.

However, exports declined from 1.032 million tonnes to 0.642 million tonnes, a fall of 37.8 percent, while imports slipped 5.3 percent to 1.41 million tonnes from 1.49 million tonnes.