Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first 11 months of last year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 56.8 million mt, down eight percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Bolivia, up 549,000 mt (+104%), in Mexico, up 537,000 mt (+3.0%) and in Peru, rising by 153,000 mt (+6.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.5 million mt (-13%) in Brazil, was down 1.09 million mt (-23%) in Argentina, dropped by 204,000 mt (-8.0%) in Chile, diminished by 335,000 mt (-9.0%) in Colombia and narrowed by 171,000 mt (-11%) in Ecuador, all on year-on-year basis.
In the January-November period of last year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 10.6 million mt, falling by 21 percent year on year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 3.1 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (4.2 million mt), followed by Colombia (2.1 million mt), Chile (1.4 million mt) and Peru (1.4 million mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 4.6 million mt in December last year, falling by nine percent month on month and down by seven percent compared to December 2015.
Meanwhile, in the January-November period of last year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 46.7 million mt, down five percent year on year.