Sales of flat steel products by the Brazilian distributors increased to 329,900 mt in January from 263,600 mt in December, according to the sector institute INDA.
Under the same comparative basis, purchases by the distributors chain increased by 25.9 percent to 344,800 mt, while the level of inventories increased by 1.7 percent to 894,200 mt, reaching the equivalent to 2.7 months of consumption, a comfortable level, lower than the historical average of 3.0 months of consumption.
Imports in January declined by 52.4 percent from December, reaching 131,800 mt, including heavy plates, HRC, CRC, zinc coated, HDG, pre-painted and Galvalume.
In comparison to January 2023, sales increased by 6.0 percent, purchases increased by 7.8 percent, and imports declined by 25.6 percent.
For February 2024, expectations by INDA are for purchases and sales declining by 3 percent from January.
Speaking in a conference with analysts, the president of Inda, Carlos Loureiro, confirmed that the Brazilian producers have effectively increased their prices by a range of 5 to 6 percent in January, adding that the premium of HRC in the domestic market, when considering the price of a similar product in the international market, stands today in a 16 to 17 percent range.