Brazilian sales of flat steel by local distributors in December fell 22.6 percent, year-on-year, and 25.7 percent, month-on-month, to 189,200 mt, the nation’s steel distributors association, Inda, said.
According to Inda, flat steel sales by local distributors also declined in 2015, reaching 3.17 million mt. The volume is 19.9 percent lower when compared to 2014’s figures.
Brazilian distributors purchased 175,900 mt of steel in December, 27.9 percent down, month-on-month, and 31 percent lower when compared to the same period of the year prior. As for the whole year, steel purchases reached 3.04 million mt, 21.5 percent down, year-on-year.
Inventory’s turnover in December rose to 4.9 months, from 3.7 months, Inda said, adding inventories’ volumes declined 1.4 percent in the last month of the year when compared to November, to 921,700 mt.
Reflecting the devaluation of the BRL, steel imports by local distributors diminished 30.1 percent, month-on-month, and 57.9 percent, year-on-year, to 49,900 mt. As for 2015, imports fell by 21.7 percent to 1.52 million mt.
Inda projected both purchase and sales of steel by local distributors to rise about 12 percent, month-on-month, in January.
Inda also said that in an optimistic forecast for the on-going year steel sales in 2016 should decline 5 percent when compared to 2015.