The reference price for Brazilian slabs exports is now $597/mt, FOB conditions for the basic commercial grades, compared with $600/mt a week before, remaining among the highest reference prices in almost two years.
According to Secex, the foreign trade secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Brazil exported 390,500 mt of slabs in May, a 43 percent drop from April.
Such decline reflects a preference by slabs producers to serve the domestic market, chiefly CSN and Usiminas.
ArcelorMittal Pecem, which usually exports slabs, made no slab exports in May because it prioritized the domestic market, while Ternium is supplying slabs to Usiminas, under the company’s new shareholding structure.
Sources said prices are expected to remain stable or decline slightly as the US dollar strengthens against the Brazilian real (BRL), helping producers maintain margins, which are largely based in BRL.
