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In May this year, Brazilian crude steel production totaled 2.86 million metric tons, reflecting an increase of 5.49 percent compared to April and a 50.8 percent increase from May 2009, according to the Brazil Steel Institute (IABr).
 
Brazil's rolled steel product output totaled 2.3 million mt in May, rising by 5.26 percent month on month and up 42.3 percent year on year. Of this total, the country's flat steel output stood at 1.28 million mt - up 6.08 percent over April and up 50.5 percent year on year, while its long steel output amounted to 922,700 metric tons, rising by 4.07 percent month on month and up 31.7 percent compared to May 2009.
 
On the other hand, in the first five months of this year, Brazil's crude steel output rose 56.9 percent, reaching 13.53 million metric tons, while its rolled steel output increased by 64.5 percent to 10.78 million metric tons, including 6.47 million metric tons of flat products - up 77.7 percent, and 4.31 million metric tons of long products - up 48 percent, all compared to the corresponding period of 2009.
 
Domestic sales totaled 1.97 million metric tons in May, up 12.99 percent from April and up 54.9 percent from the same month last year. Sales in the first five months totaled 8.83 million metric tons, increasing by 57.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
 
Exports of steel products in May amounted to 654,800 metric tons - up 10.4 percent year on year, worth US$654.8 million. Exports in the first five months of this year totaled 3.47 million mt, worth US$2.02 billion, with increases of 28.9 percent in volume and 21.5 percent in value compared to the corresponding period of 2009.
 
Meanwhile, the country's steel import volume in May totaled 494,500 metric tons (US$433 million), with the first five months' total reaching 2.31 million metric tons of steel products (US$2 billion), representing a 149 percent increase from the same period last year.