Slab demand is currently holding steady in the US, with decent purchasing activity evident in the market.
Although there have been several recent slab bookings concluded in the market, industry insiders expect slab demand in the US will decrease in the fourth quarter while slab availability will increase. With the uncertain economy, re-rollers are not buying aggressively for the time being. Moreover, towards the end of the year, they are buying carefully now to maintain comfortable inventory levels. Therefore, sources tell SteelOrbis that BlueScope's decision to stay out of the export slab market will not have much effect, as slab demand is expected to be slow in the fourth quarter.
With US flat rolled products prices increasing twice in the last month, slab offer prices to the US have followed the upward trend and have increased by approximately $10/mt from a month ago to $660 to $670/mt CFR. However, it is questionable if the market will accept the flat rolled price increase, so import slab prices might not maintain such high levels. In addition, slab buyers do not have pressure on slab tonnages, and sources tell SteelOrbis that a steady slab pricing trend is anticipated for the next month.
The latest data from the US Department of Commerce's Steel Import Monitoring and Analysis (SIMA) system show that the total amount of slab imports into the US in the month of August was 506,685 mt, reflecting an increase of 155,236 mt when compared to the figure in July. The primary countries that exported slab to the US in August were: Brazil, at 314,351 mt; Japan, at 72,742 mt; Canada, at 64,100 mt; Russia, at 20,134 mt; India, at 19,830 mt; and Mexico, at 14,966 mt.