The price of flat steel products is expected to increase in average by 7.5 percent in January, according to Carlos Loureiro, the president of the Brazilian distributors INDA, in a press conference last week.
In his view, the increase should compensate for the devaluation of the BRL in relation to the USD during December, as most of the steel raw materials in Brazil are priced in USD.
Thiago Rodrigues, VP of the steel producer Usiminas, mentioned in a conference with investors that the company will have to increase its prices to compensate for the devaluation of the BRL.
Brazil imports all the coking coal consumed by its steel industry and although Brazil is one of the world’s main producers of iron ore, the ore is also priced in USD with quotation linked to CFR China prices.