Brazil's flat, long output up

Brazilian Steel Association IBS disclosed that the country's flat and long steel production recorded an increase in June. Flat steel output rose 12 percent year on year to 1.19 million tons in June. However, year-to-date production fell 3.6 percent year on year to 6.7 million tons. Long steel production amounted to 740,000 tons in June, up 9.1 percent year on year. Output in the first half of this year reached 4.46 million tons, an increase of 6.9 percent from a year earlier. Total steel sales in the Brazilian market amounted to 1.5 million tons in June, an increase of 14.2 percent from a year earlier, while domestic shipments rose 1.9 percent year on year to 8.57 million tons in the first six month of the year.