United States Steel Corp. saw its fourth-quarter loss shrink to $50 million as the tough economy continues to produce volatile results in the steel industry.

The Pittsburgh-based steelmaker says it lost 35 cents per share for the most recent quarter. A year ago it lost $211 million, or $1.46 per share.

The loss would have been 41 cents per share if not for a favorable settlement of a contract dispute. Still, that was better than the loss of 70 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.

Revenue fell 6.9 percent to $4.49 billion. Analysts had been expecting revenue of $4.33 billion.

The company says it is still facing uncertain economic and steel market conditions. U.S. Steel expects shipments to rise in the first quarter compared with fourth quarter.