Sources mentioned that the most recent slab export deals from Brazilian producers to their clients in the US were effectively closed in a range of $970/mt to $980/mt, FOB conditions for the basic commercial grades.
Producers reportedly expected a range of $990/mt to $1,000/mt, which has not been achieved so far but is still being considered for fresh sales to be closed until the end of the month, for shipments in August.
A source linked to a producer mentioned that demand for slab in the US remains stable at high levels so far this year, while slab production remains limited in different world regions, due to failure by plants in achieving full capacity.
Sales by Brazilian producers are also expected to be closed with clients in Mexico and Canada, framed by the $900/mt to $1,000/mt price range.
Today, Brazil’s Usiminas announced the restart of its blast furnace #2 in the Ipatinga plant. The unit has a 600,000 mt per year pig iron capacity, an event viewed by analysts as an alternative for Usiminas to move from an importer to exporter of slab. In May, Usiminas imported 104,500 mt of slab from Russia.
With the restart of the blast furnace at Usiminas, Brazil has today all of its large blast furnaces in operation, with the exception of the blast furnaces of the Cubatao plant of Usiminas, which are considered permanently closed.