A major scrap producer in Brazil told SteelOrbis that domestic prices for busheling scrap have declined 14.2 percent in September, following a BRL 100/mt ($27.62/mt) FOB increase in July.
As of September 1, the Sao Paulo-based source said he is selling the product domestically at BRL 600/mt ($165.72/mt) FOB, down from BRL 700/mt ($193.34/mt) FOB in July, but in line with the prices seen from March to June this year.
“I think prices are likely to fall even more,” a source said, adding that domestic prices for busheling scrap in Brazil should follow the same downtrend seen in the domestic sales of HMS-1 .
“We’ve been selling HMS-1 in Brazil for BRL 470-500/mt ($129.82-138.10/mt) FOB,” a source said, noting that September’s price is actually BRL 50/mt ($13.81/mt) lower when compared to June and July prices, which were stable.
“We still have a bearish prospect for the nation’s steel industry, so we don’t expect a recovery in domestic prices for busheling scrap.”
A source said East Asia continues to be its best option for exports of HMS-1. “We’ve been exporting about 80-90 percent of our production there,” a producer said.
1 US$ = BRL 3.70 (September 1)