According to data released Friday by the Brazil Steel Institute (IABr), Brazilian steelmakers produced 3 million metric tons (mt) of crude steel in April, reflecting a 1.2 percent decline from April 2011. However, year-to-date production through April 2012 was 11.8 million tons--1.7 percent higher than the first four months of 2011. Brazilian steel sales domestically slipped 2.1 percent in April.
Year-to-date imports of steel are up 17 percent at 1.3 million mt, while exports declined 7 percent to 3.4 million mt, in part due to the Brazilian real's strength over the US dollar making domestic Brazilian steel less competitive internationally.