A steel distributor in Sao Paulo told SteelOrbis that the company is maintaining its imports operations of HRC and CRC, fueled by domestic prices remaining far higher than international prices.
The source said he still importing HRC at $600/mt, CFR Brazilian port, while CRC is coming in at $650/mt, under the same conditions. In July, the average FOB import prices were $617/mt for HRC (down 11 percent from June) and $642/mt for CRC (up 3.5 percent from June), according to MDIC.
He added that the domestic flats producers are still selling HRC in the domestic market at BRL1,600/mt to BRL1,700/mt, FOB ex-IPI but including PIS/Cofins, which under the current exchange rate is in the US$704-$748/mt range. Under the same conditions, CRC is being sold at BRL1,900-2,000/mt, equivalent to US$836-$880/mt.
Under such conditions, the premium for the domestic price of HRC and CRC, in comparison with the imported product after clearing customs, is estimated at 10 percent, but in a recent conference with analysts, a director of the local producer CSN said such premium could go up to 19 percent.
Overall imports of HRC reached 17,000 mt in July (up 474 percent from June) and CRC imports reached 90,000 mt (up threefold from June), according to MDIC.