Brazil exported a mere 1,000 mt of CRC in January, against 6,700 mt in December 2015, according to the local ministry of development, industry and foreign trade, MDIC.
The average FOB export price of January was $516/mt, 23 percent more than in December, with Usiminas exporting at $543/mt and ArcelorMittal at $465/mt. The main destinations were Argentina (800 mt) and Uruguay (100 mt).
The volume of CRC exported in January was the lowest in recent years, reflecting a combination of factors such as reduced domestic production, with the closure of blast furnaces by all the country’s integrated producers, coupled to the reduced demand from the international markets, chiefly the US and the EU.
A source from a major steel producer told SteelOrbis that some shipments scheduled for January were delayed to February, so the figure of February should show a significant recovery.
Conversely, the Brazilian imports of CRC in January increased by 26 percent from December to 8,200 mt, at an average FOB price reduced by 12 percent to $418/mt.
With the figures of January, Brazil became a net importer of CRC, for the first time since May 2015.
The main origins of such imports were Ukraine (5,100 mt at $303/mt), South Korea (1,500 mt at $671/mt) and China (1,400 mt at $489/mt), all FOB conditions.
In the Brazilian domestic market, CRC of the basic commercial grades are sold at BRL 2,835/mt ($718/mt), FOB, full taxes except IPI, roughly equivalent to BRL 2,257/mt ($571/mt), FOB conditions, a distributor in Rio de Janeiro told SteelOrbis.
1 USD = BRL 4.00 (February 11)