Brazilian crude steel production reached 2.769 million mt in May 2026, compared with 2.709 million mt in May 2025, according to the Brazilian steel institute IABR.
On a comparative basis, rolled product output increased by 0.7 percent to 2.030 million mt, with the production of flat products increasing by 3.0 percent to 1.227 million mt and the production of long products declining by 2.5 percent to 803,000 mt.
Similarly, domestic sales of steel products increased by 1.3 percent to 1.8 million mt and the apparent consumption of steel products declined by 14.1 percent to 2.100 million mt, while exports declined by 62.4 percent to 645,000 mt and imports declined by 55.4 percent to 312,000 mt.
In June, the Steel Industry Confidence Index (ICIA), which measures confidence among executives in Brazil’s steel sector, declined to 47.8 points from 59.9 points in May. This was its highest decline over the last months, an indication of pessimism among executives of the steel industry, lower the 50-point line that separates optimism from pessimism.
According to IABR, the index mainly reflects expectations for the domestic economy over the next six months, which stood at 49.0 points. The index for current conditions reached 44.7 points, while executives’ expectations for their own companies fell by 18.3 points to 51.1 points.
