Brazilian producers remain negotiating HRC of the basic commercial grades for export at $620/mt, FOB conditions, a price now stable for two months, a local exporter told SteelOrbis.
Preliminary indications from the country’s customs authorities point to a significant decline, in July, from the 119,000 mt of HRC exported from Brazil in June.
According to the source, the forecast reduction reflects chiefly the low incentive to export HRC when the price of the product is just around $40/mt above the price of the feedstock slab, a premium level that isn’t sufficient to cover the cost of rolling operations.