* Q2 pretax loss 1.10 bln crowns, in line with forecasts
* Expects bigger Q3 loss, despite market stabilisation
* Cost-savings programme more effective than expected
* Shares fall 2.5 percent
(Adds analysts, background, updates shares)
By Katarina Gustafsson and Veronica Ek
STOCKHOLM, July 27 (Reuters) - Swedish specialty steelmaker SSAB said on Monday losses in the second quarter in line with forecasts would widen in the current three months amid a fragile market and seasonal order reductions by customers.
Shares in SSAB were down 2.5 percent by 0745 GMT, underperforming a 0.3 percent gain in the Stockholm bourse's blue-chip index.
"It is a reasonable reaction. What disappoints the markets today is that they are saying that results will be weaker in the third quarter. They are relatively cautious about the outlook," said Johnson Imode, an analyst at S&P Equity Research.
Steel prices have fallen in the wake of the worldwide downturn which has hit demand for metals and delayed construction projects, forcing steelmakers to cut output, delay shipments and scale back investment plans.
The company said the global steel market was still tinged with uncertainty, and that it expected a wider loss in the third quarter than in the second.
"It is too early to talk about a definite turnaround. What we can note is stabilisation," it said in a statement.
"We expect that the result for the third quarter will be weaker than for the second quarter, primarily due to seasonal variations as a consequence of our customers' holiday outages," the firm said.
SSAB reported a pretax loss of 1.10 billion Swedish crowns ($147 million) in the three months to June, down from a profit of 3.0 billion a year ago. That compared with the average forecast for a 1.08 billion loss in a Reuters poll of 13 analysts.
"The numbers were roughly in line with expectations. The cash flow was stronger than expected, but the outlook is somewhat weaker than expected," said Stefan Ward, an analyst at Handelsbanken Capital Markets.
The firm, which unveiled plans to cut 1,300 jobs at the end of last year to adjust to the weaker demand, said its cost-cutting programme had had a more rapid impact than expected.
ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, is seen posting an 86 percent slide in core profit when it releases its second-quarter results on Wednesday, July 29.
(Additional reporting by Oskar von Bahr; Editing by John Stonestreet and David Cowell)