Two exporters in Brazil told SteelOrbis that $370/mt, FOB conditions, is the new base price for negotiations for the export of slab of the basic commercial grades.
The price compares to $350/mt FOB last week and is the new peak of an uptrend started in December 2015 at $230/mt FOB.
One of the sources mentioned that the slab price is set to reach $400/mt in the short term, ascribing the higher prices to the lack of availability of slab in the merchant market, rather than higher demand, due to lower production in Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
The other source said that the only risk to the current upward trend is the return to the merchant slab market of companies like CSN and Usiminas, in Brazil, attracted by the higher prices.