Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-March period of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 15.4 million mt, down 17 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Chile, up 24,000 mt (+3.0%), in Guatemala, up 8,000 mt (+3.0%) and in Mexico, rising by 2,000 mt (+0.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.0 million mt (-32%) in Brazil, was down 67,000 mt (-8.0%) in Peru, dropped by 75,000 mt (-6.0%) in Argentina and narrowed by 12,000 mt (-1.0%) in Colombia, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first three months of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 3.1 million mt, falling by 36 percent compared to the January-March period of last year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 971,000 mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (1.5 million mt), followed by Colombia (670,000 mt), Chile (436,000 mt) and Peru (411,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 4.3 million mt in April this year, increasing by six percent month on month and down by 17 percent compared to April last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-March period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 12.4 million mt, down 10 percent year on year.