A source from a major steel exporter told SteelOrbis that negotiations for exports of slab are now based on $310/mt FOB for the basic commercial grades.
The price compares to $320/mt FOB, the reference price that was valid since late April and that reportedly has driven the local producers Usiminas, CSN and Gerdau Acominas out of the merchant slab market during May.
In a similar pattern for most steel products, slab prices for export from Brazil are moving consistently down since a peak of $500/mt FOB achieved in August 2014, posing a threat for the profitability of such operations, except when linked to long term contracts or to operations between companies of the same group.
According to the Brazilian ministry of development, industry and foreign trade, MDIC, Brazil exported 463,000 mt of slabs in May, of which 247,700 mt by ThyssenKrupp CSA at $370/mt FOB and 215,300 mt by ArcelorMittal Tubarao at $330/mt FOB.