With market conditions broadly unchanged from recent weeks, and amid continued competition between domestic and export demand, the reference export price for Brazilian slab rose slightly to $580/metric ton (mt), from $577/mt last week, FOB for basic commercial grades.
Analysts said the modest increase reflects the potential inclusion of HRC among Chinese steel products subject to antidumping duties, following the addition of CRC and coated flat products in February.
They believe Chinese HRC could face antidumping duties as early as August, which would boost domestic slab demand as feedstock for local HRC production and replace part of the imported volume.
In 2025, Brazil imported 272,800 mt of HRC from China, worth $132.7 million.
From January to June 2026, imports totaled 72,800 mt and were valued at $35.8 million.
Preliminary data from Secex, the foreign trade secretariat of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, continue to suggest that Brazil's slab exports in July likely matched the 642,200 mt shipped in June.
