The Brazilian production of crude steel reached 2.789 million mt in January 2025, 2.4 percent more than in January 2024, according to the Brazilian steel institute, IABr.
On a comparative basis, the production of rolled products declined by 2.2 percent to 2.006 million mt, with the production of flat products declining by 4.7 percent to 1.203 million mt and the production of long products increasing by 1.6 percent to 803,000 mt.
Similarly, domestic sales of steel products increased by 3.1 percent to 1.664 million mt and the apparent consumption of steel products increased by 11.4 percent to 2.156 million mt, while exports declined by 2.9 percent to 909.000 mt and imports increased by 49.4 percent to 548,000 mt.
When comparing January 2025 to December 2024, crude steel production increased by 8.4 percent, the production of flat products increased by 13.7 percent, and the production of long products increased by 26.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the institute has issued the February 2025 edition of the index of confidence of the steel industry, with the fourth consecutive decline, now reaching 34.7 points in February against 42.4 points in January, significantly lower than the mark of 50 points that divides optimism and pessimism.
The index of February is the lowest since May 2020, reflecting, according to IABr, the pessimism of the steel industry in relation to the developments of the Brazilian economy.