Brazilian producers are negotiating the exports of slab in a range of $390/mt to $400/mt, against $415/mt to $425/mt last week, FOB conditions for the base commercial grades, with exports to Europe and Latin America, a local market source told SteelOrbis.
A second source, linked to a local producer, mentioned negotiations hovering around $380/mt, under the same conditions.
For exports to the US, the source mentioned that the negotiations are now around $410/mt FOB against $430/mt to $440/mt FOB last week.
The sources ascribe the declining prices to the worldwide downtrend in the steel industry, as rolling activities are reduced due to negative perspectives for international trade flows.
In September, Brazil exported 367,400 mt of slab, against 434,300 mt in August. Pecem exported 161,100 mt at $437/mt, Ternium exported 128,400 mt at $463/mt, and ArcelorMittal exported 77,800 mt at $441/mt, all FOB conditions, with different quality grades and price deals probably closed in June.
The main destinations were the US (138,100 mt), South Korea and Mexico (50,800 mt each) and Belgium (50,000 mt), while smaller volumes were shipped to Poland, Canada and the UK.