Brazilian slab producers are negotiating exports of the product of the basic commercial grades at $320/mt, FOB conditions, the same as last week, said a local exporter close to SteelOrbis.
Oscillating between $320/mt and $330/mt FOB since early July, the price could be affected by pressure from another factor: local producer CSN announced that it will restart a blast furnace at its Volta Redonda plant, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
“Although CSN is not a regular player in the merchant slab market, the additional production could displace slabs from other producers and indirectly affect the merchant slab market,” the source said, adding that this is similar to the situation derived from the slab offer from the recently started production of Companhia Siderurgica do Pecem (CSP), an integrated slab producer in the Brazilian northeastern state of Ceara.
The recent valuation of the Brazilian currency, vis-à-vis the US dollar, and mixed signals from steel prices in China are other factors to affect the price of the Brazilian slabs.
In July, ArcelorMittal Tubarao exported its slabs at $369/mt, ThyssenKrupp CSA at $349/mt and Gerdau Acominas at $326/mt, FOB conditions, with price deals probably closed in May.