Brazilian slab remain negotiated at $290/mt, FOB conditions for export of the basic commercial grades, a major exporter told SteelOrbis.
He added that such stability, although lasting for only three weeks, could be viewed as a positive reversion of expectations, as the slab price is consistently moving down, virtually every week, since $360/mt in March 2015, the last time the merchant slab market saw a price increase, although small, from the previous reference price of $340/mt FOB.
In a wider perspective, the reference price for the merchant slab is moving downwards since a peak of $530/mt FOB in July 2014.
In June, ThyssenKrupp CSA exported slab at $350/mt, ArcelorMittal Tubarao at $309/mt, Gerdau Acominas at $326/mt and Usiminas at $298/mt, all FOB conditions, price deals probably closed in April.