Brazil exported 19,700 mt of Galvalume in August at an average FOB price of $915/mt, an increase of $5/mt since July.
All the volume was shipped by CSN and destined to the US (12,100 mt at $959/mt) and Argentina (7,600 mt at $845/mt), both FOB conditions, with price deals probably closed in June.
A FOB price range of $820/mt to $860/mt remains over two weeks as the reference price for the export of Galvalume by the local producers, a market source told SteelOrbis.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian imports of Galvalume declined from 26,000 mt in July to 17,000 mt in August, all shipped from China, in average at $704/mt, FOB conditions, against $730/mt FOB in July.
Galvalume is produced in Brazil, under the license of BIEC, by CSN and ArcelorMittal, but such production is not sufficient to serve the local market under normal conditions of the economy. As a result, Brazil usually imports Galvalume, sometimes in volumes higher than exports, pushed by the high domestic prices.
A second source mentioned that Galvalume of the AZ 150 grade is currently sold by distributors in the domestic market at up to BRL 4,600/mt ($1,482/mt), full taxes except IPI.
USD = BRL 3.10 (September 7)