A source from a major Brazilian slab producer told SteelOrbis that the reference price for export of the product, FOB conditions, is $230/mt for material of the basic commercial grades.
He mentioned that the price of the product is stable for more than two months, having achieved the longest period of stability since a peak of $530/mt FOB, registered on July 2014.
According to the source, it is too soon to know if the price could assume a positive trend: “we still consider the price in a downward trend, as since 2014 we did not have a price increase,” he said.
He believes that the current stability reflects a combination of factors, including the poor international demand and the reduced domestic production, as all Brazilian producers are operating at low pace, resulting in a limited number of deals effectively closed.