A major distributer in south Brazil told SteelOrbis that he maintained the price of CRC in the domestic market at $811/mt, FOB full taxes except IPI.
Stable in BRL over one month, the equivalent price in $ actually went down by 8.5 percent due to the exchange rate variation.
“The volume sold went down, reflecting the lackluster domestic economy, but reducing prices would not have increased sales,” the source added.
In February, Brazil exported 15,900 mt of CRC, 44 percent less than in January, at an average FOB price of $723/mt, 4.1 percent higher.
The top exporter was CSN, 14,100 mt at $710/mt.
A major exporter told SteelOrbis that his last export sale was closed FOB at $580/mt, for the base commercial grades, against $600/mt one month ago.
Meanwhile, Brazil imported 42,600 mt of CRC in February, 5.4 percent less than in January, at an average FOB price of $604/mt.
The top exporters were China (30,700 mt at $598/mt FOB) and Russia (9,400 mt at $573/mt FOB).
A traditional exporter of CRC, Brazil became a net importer of the product due to the high price in the domestic market.
In 2014, Brazil imported 487,000 mt of CR coils and exported 176,000 mt.