Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first nine months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 45.1 million mt, compared to 50.6 million mt recorded in the same period of 2017. The highest increases were registered in Brazil, increasing by 1.2 million mt (+9.0%), in Argentina, up 184,000 mt (+5.0%), and in Uruguay, rising by 160,000 mt (+18.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by five percent in Mexico, was down 21 percent in Peru and declined by 63 percent in Venezuela, all on year-on-year basis.