Exports of Brazilian slab to Asian countries are in the range of $530/mt to $540/mt CFR, the same range as last week, while export offers to Europe are also stable at $510/mt to $520/mt CFR, both considering the product of the basic commercial grades.
For exports to the US, the price range is now $519/mt to $523/mt CFR for the East coast and $525/mt to $530/mt CFR to the West coast, comparable to $508/mt to $518/mt and $512/mt to $522/mt, respectively, last week, also considering the basic commercial grades.
The prices reflect increased demand, including domestically, as Usiminas is reportedly acquiring 200,000 mt of slab per month, while sources mentioned that CSN is also feeding on outsourced slab to feed its rolling activities.
With the confirmed restart by ArcelorMittal of the blast furnace #3 of the Tubarao plant, 3.0 million mt of yearly capacity could reach the market in December when its ramp-up process is concluded, negatively affecting prices in the merchant slab market, currently estimated at 17.4 million mt per year in the supply side and 16.2 million mt in the demand side.
In September, Brazil exported 419,600 mt of slab, against 570,800 mt in August. The US was the main destination (218,400 mt at $440/mt), followed by China (130,100 mt at $343/mt), Belgium (49,700 mt at $380/mt), Aruba (20,500 mt at $460/mt) and Hong Kong (900 mt at $323/mt) all FOB conditions and different quality grades. The exporters were Ternium (211,700 mt), Pecem (163,600 mt) and Tubarao (44,300 mt).