Current export prices for Brazilian slab have reached a two-year high, attributed mostly to shipments from Rio de Janeiro-based ThyssenKrupp CSA to the company’s operations in Germany and the Calvert, Alabama rolling plant recently acquired by ArcelorMittal, Nippon Steel and Sumimoto.
Prices in the range of $526-$530/mt FOB reflect a slight rise from June, when the average price reached $525/mt FOB, according to figures from the Brazilian ministry of development, industry and foreign trade (MDIC). Further, June prices saw a 3.5 percent rise from average prices in May.
A source from a major Brazilian mill told Steel Orbis that availability of slabs and HRC for export is extremely tight, as its production remains focused in the more profitable domestic market.
The total volume of slabs exported from Brazil in June reached 316,000 mt, 10 percent more than in May and the highest monthly volume since October 2013.
ArcelorMittal Tubarao, in the southeastern state of Espirito Santo, shipped 85,000 mt of slabs to the US in June, and the company is restarting a blast furnace to help provide slabs to the Alabama rolling plant. The 2.8 million mt per year furnace is set to reach full capacity during August.