TOKYO, May 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Nippon Steel shares jumped as much as 7.4 percent on Monday after US President Donald Trump threw his support behind a new "partnership" between with Japanese firm and US Steel.

Trump's remarks on Friday were the latest in a long saga surrounding Nippon Steel's $14.9-billion takeover of US Steel first announced in late 2023.

The US firm's management had accepted the offer but unions opposed it and Trump's predecessor Joe Biden blocked it on national security grounds in the last days his presidency.

Trump said that US Steel's headquarters would remain in Pittsburgh and that the partnership would create at least 70,000 jobs and add $14 billion to the US economy.

However neither the White House nor the two companies have published the details of the new arrangement and many questions remain.

On Monday Nippon Steel shares were up 4.1 percent at 2,988 yen having surged 7.4 percent in early trade. US Steel shares had soared 21 percent on Wall Street on Friday.