The Brazilian slab exporters remain negotiating deals having $505/mt, FOB conditions for the basic commercial grades as reference, stable for the last two weeks.
After a long-term stability in the range of $530-540/mt, the negotiations were affected by the recent imposition of a 25 percent import tariff by the US, Brazil’s main destination for the export of slabs.
According to analysts, the US slab importers could be receiving low priced offers from suppliers other than usual suppliers such as Brazil and Canada.
The Brazilian authorities, under the coordination of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, maintain expectations that the US will accept quotas to import slabs at regular tariffs, such as during the first term of Donald Trump as US president.
In February, Brazil exported 382,800 mt and imported 7,000 mt of slabs.
According to the foreign trade authority, SECEX, during the first week of March, one 60,000 mt slab export from Brazil was registered by customs, while no slab import has cleared customs in Brazilian ports.