Slab purchasing activity is slow in the US, with lukewarm demand and neutral price movement.
As most slab buyers have already purchased sufficient slab tonnages for third quarter production, slab demand in the US is soft for the time being. There has not been many slab transactions concluded in the last month, and additionally, with the economy slowdown, weakness on the US flat rolled prices, and the uncertainty in the overall US steel market, re-rollers are buying smaller amounts just to meet their immediate needs.
As for current slab prices, CIS slab suppliers concluded a recent transaction to the US at $645 to $655/mt CFR, representing change from prices reported a month ago, while Brazilian slab suppliers are asking for a higher price level. It is expected that discussion on slab prices for the fourth quarter will begin at the end of August or early September. With sluggish slab demand in the US, market insiders anticipate the slab prices will stay around the current levels going forward.
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 July was 351,449 mt, reflecting a large decrease of 171,375 mt when compared to the figure in June. The primary countries that exported slab to the US in July were: Brazil, at 141,641 mt; Russia, at 83,602 mt; Canada, at 46,474 mt; Mexico, at 44,297 mt; and Japan, at 34,858 mt.