A source from a major longs producer in Brazil told SteelOrbis that the company had its best ever November for the sale of long products, with 16,000 mt sold in the domestic market during the month.
According to the source, November and December are seasonally poor months for sales of long products in Brazil, but this November brought a 5 percent increase of sales from October, chiefly to industrial sectors, while sales were stable to the civil construction sector.
Prices for wire rod mesh are stable for the company in three weeks at BRL2,620/mt ($1,022/mt), CFR, full taxes, while for the drawing grade product the price, also stable, was BRL1,930/mt ($1,142/mt).
The high prices of wire rod in the Brazilian domestic market have fueled imports of the product, which have increased from irrelevant tonnages in 2007 to a peak of 292,000 mt in 2012, hovering around the 140,000 mt/year level in 2013 and 2014.