AK Steel Shares Climb After Surcharge Announced

AK Steel supplies steel used in exhaust systems and other vehicle parts. It also sells steel to the automakers' suppliers. About 32 percent of AK Steel's sales revenue last year came from the auto industry.

Amid the slumping demand, prices of the metal have tumbled from historic highs last summer.

Meanwhile, a planned joint venture by miner Rio Tinto PLC and rival BHP Billiton Ltd. — two of the world's largest producers of iron ore, a key steel ingredient — could bode well for AK Steel and other North American steel producers, according to JPMorgan analyst Michael Gambardella.

"Global steel prices will likely rise as nearly all the steel producers in the world (except in North America, Brazil, and Russia) must purchase iron ore," he wrote in a note to investors. "Second, it makes the threat of steel imports into the U.S. less likely as U.S.-based steel making costs will decrease relative to most foreign steel makers who don't have local iron ore sources."

AK Steel buys iron ore in North America under long-term contracts.

Shares of AK Steel rose 98 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $17.47 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $5.20 and $72.99 per share over the past 52 weeks.