The reference price for slab in the Brazilian domestic market today is $520/mt, against $510/mt one month ago, ex-works, full taxes except IPI for the basic commercial grades, roughly the equivalent to export offers (FOB conditions) for destinations other than the US, a local market source told SteelOrbis.
Today, buyers in the Brazilian domestic slab market include Usiminas, Gerdau and CSN, as Usiminas has had the steel producing area of its Cubatao plant idled since late 2015, while CSN and Gerdau are in the process of revamping blast furnaces in their Volta Redonda and Ouro Branco plants.
The companies are obtaining slab supply from Pecem, Ternium and ArcelorMittal Tubarao to feed their hot rolling lines, giving rise to a market estimated at 100,000 mt of slab per month. The revamping of the blast furnace at CSN will require investments estimated at $250 million, with an increased production estimated at up to 500,000 mt per year, when compared with the pre-stoppage level of production.
CSN will buy around 400,000 mt of steel products to maintain its level of sales during the stoppage, of which 30 percent imported and 70 percent to be acquired locally.
In April, Usiminas imported 35,400 mt of slab from Russia at $421/mt, FOB conditions and price deals probably closed in February.