Latin America's finished steel usage up four percent in January-April

Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-April period of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 23.7 million mt, up four percent as compared with the same period of 2014. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 947,000 mt (+13%), in Peru, up 177,000 mt (+19%) and in Chile, up 93,000 mt (+11%), while finished steel consumption in Brazil and Argentina decreased by 361,000 mt (-4%) and 113,000 mt (-6%) respectively, all on year-on-year basis.
 
In the first four months of the current year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 5.7 million mt, increasing by 25 percent year on year. In the given period, all Latin American countries presented steel trade deficits, led by Mexico with an imbalance of 2.3 million mt. Other countries that showed significant deficits were Colombia (667,000 mt), Peru (628,000 mt) and Chile (593,000 mt).
 
On the other hand, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 21.43 million mt in the January-April period of this year, down one percent compared to the same period of 2014. In April alone, crude steel production in the region remained stable at 5.45 million mt year on year.
 
Meanwhile, in the first four months of this year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 18.64 million mt.