Sales of flat steel products by the Brazilian distributors declined to 257,000 mt in December, against 290,600 mt in November, according to the sector institute INDA. The decline represents the fourth consecutive monthly decrease.
Purchases by the distributors chain in December declined by 14.5 percent from November to 242,800 mt in December, resulting in a 1.7 percent decline of inventories from November to 817,800 mt in December.
The level of inventories is now equivalent to 3.2 months of sales, against 2.9 months of sales in November. The current level is now considered as elevated in historical terms.
Imports in December increased by 5.8 percent from November, reaching 165,700 mt. Such import figures include heavy plates, HRC, CRC, zinc coated, HDG, pre-painted and Galvalume.
According to INDA, expectations for January are for purchases and sales increasing by 11 percent from December.