The current reference price for Brazilian slab exports stands at a two-year high of $605 per metric ton (mt), up from $600/mt last week, under FOB terms for basic commercial grades.
Prices are holding steady at amounts last seen in April 2024, continuing the upward movement that started when prices hit $455/mt in October 2025. This marks the longest sustained uptrend in recent years.
According to analysts, the main factor behind the increase is the depreciation of the US Dollar against the Brazilian Real (BRL), which has intensified over the past week, when reached a two-year peak.
The slab export price is also positively affected by increased domestic demand, chiefly from CSN and Usiminas, which have a deficit in volume of slabs to feed their rolling operations.
With such domestic demand, the volume of slabs exports in March, 296,600 mt, was the lowest since November 2024. Expectations are for a small increase in April.
Due to maritime disruptions in the Middle East, and stable routes from Brazil to the US, Europe, and Asia, analysts expect Brazilian slab export prices to continue rising slightly in the coming weeks.
