Brazilian sales of flats by local distributors in December declined 9.2 percent, year- over-year, and 7.4 percent, month-over-month, to 261,500 mt, according to a report this week from the nation’s association of flat steel distributors (Inda).
Purchases of flat steel products by Brazilian distributors in December fell 25.4 percent, year-over-year, and 12.2 percent, month-over-month, to 248,600 mt.
Flat steel inventory in December dropped 1.6 percent, month-over-month, to 814,200 mt. Inventory turnover in December grew to 3.1 months, from 2.9 months in November.
Imports of flat steel products by distributors in December rose 74.6 percent, year-over-year, but diminished 33.3 percent, month-over-month, to 161,000 mt.
Inda estimated both the purchases and sales of flat steel products by Brazilian distributors in January this year to increase 10 percent, on a month-over-month basis.