Mexican HRC prices fell US$25/mt in the last two weeks to settle at US$599/mt ex-mill.
High demand in the domestic automotive sector should be a boon to producers of flat steel, however, imports from Japan, China and South Korea grew 53 at the end of 2014. Asian imports of steel overall increased 19 percent in 2014, while Mexico’s steel consumption for the year only grew by 12 percent.
Industry sources said that in order to survive such market conditions, price adjustments in certain segments of the domestic steel market will continue.