Mexican domestic steel plate prices fell US$10/mt ex-mill in the last two weeks, down to the level of US$827/mt ex-mill.
The downtrend is attributed to weaker demand for plate in Mexico, which is evident in first-quarter statistics for the product. Plate production in Q1 2013 fell 5.9 percent (531,779 tons vs. 565,363 in the same period last year), while the apparent domestic consumption was also down 12.9 percent (688,131 tons to 788,907 tons in Q1 2012). Meanwhile, plate imports fell 15.5 percent (248,231 tons compared to 209,803 tons last year); exports rose 116.5 percent to reach 53,451 tons against 24,687 tons in Q1 2012.