NEW YORK, July 21 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it has lowered its corporate credit ratings on integrated steel producer AK Steel Corp. and its parent, AK Steel Holding Corp. to 'B+' from 'BB-' based on the company's weaker than expected financial performance. The current outlook is negative. Middleton, Ohio-based AK Steel has about $1.3 billion in total debt.

"The downgrade reflects AK's weaker than expected financial performance resulting from difficult conditions in its key market segments and the expectation that these conditions will continue to subdue the company's financial performance for the intermediate term', said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Paul Vastola. "AK's competitive position has also been weakened by integrated steel companies that have emerged from bankruptcy and drastically improved their balance sheets by reducing debt and shedding their postretirement obligations."

Standard & Poor's said that its ratings on AK Steel reflect its challenged business position as a mid-size, value-added, integrated steelmaker, with high exposure to the automotive market, and burdensome legacy costs, which more than offset its fair liquidity. AK Steel competes in cyclical, capital-intensive markets with a focus on the manufacture of flat-rolled carbon, stainless, and electrical steel.

Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor's Web-based credit analysis system, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; under Credit Ratings in the left navigation bar, select Credit Ratings Actions.