Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first seven months of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 36.19 million mt, down 13 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 109,500 mt (+1.0%), in Peru, up 106,000 mt (+6.0%), in Honduras, growing by 52,000 mt (+35%) and in Panama, rising by 30,000 mt (+13%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 3.0 million mt (-22%) in Brazil, was down 426,000 mt (-14%) in Argentina, dropped by 185,000 mt (-11%) in Chile, diminished by 66,000 mt (-3.0%) in Colombia and narrowed by 167,000 mt (-16%) in Ecuador, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-July period of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 6.9 million mt, falling by 33 percent compared to the January-July period of last year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 2.1 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (3.4 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.4 million mt), Peru (923,000 mt) and Chile (876,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.1 million mt in August this year, decreasing by two percent month on month and down by seven percent compared to August last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-July period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 29.6 million mt, down six percent year on year.