The Brazilian Steel Institute announced Wednesday October 20, that domestic steel sales in Brazil for September were 2 percent less than in August, and raw steel output last month fell 7 percent month-over-month, and dropped 1.2 percent from a year before.
Rolled product output also decreased last month and was 1.1 less than in August, but still 6.2 more than the same time last year. Year- to-date rolled product output totaled 24.8 million nt (raw steel), up about 34 percent over the same time period last year, and 19.7 million nt (rolled product), a 40 percent rise against the first 9 months of 2009.
Steel exports in September totaled 564,000 nt and US$418 million, reflecting a 5 percent drop in volume but 10.6 percent rise in revenue year-over-year. Meanwhile, steel imports reached US$532 million in September and 4.4 million nt for the first nine months of 2010, a 160.2 surge over the same time last year.