Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in January this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 5.35 million mt, down 15 percent as compared with the same month of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 88,000 mt (+5%), in Guatemala, up 51,000 mt (+89%) and in Peru rising by 18,000 mt (+7.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 699,000 mt (-34%) in Brazil and was down 21,000 mt (-6.0%) in Colombia, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first month of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 1.2 million mt, falling by 32 percent compared to January last year. In the given month, only Brazil registered a surplus of 263,000 mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (498,000 mt), followed by Colombia (235,000 mt), Chile (163,000 mt) and Peru (160,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 4.6 million mt in February this year, decreasing by one percent month on month and down by eight percent compared to February last year.
Meanwhile, in January finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 4.1 million mt, down nine percent year on year.