With a deal closed between a Brazilian slab producer and a client in the US at $995/mt, FOB conditions for the basic commercial grades, such price is the new reference for the export of the Brazilian slabs to the US.
Sources mentioned that the next offers for August shipments are expected to increase, as a combination of factors remain positively affecting prices: increased worldwide demand; high HRC and CRC prices in the US that allow for healthy margins for the local finished steel producers; and reduced availability of slab due to producers in different world regions finding difficulties in achieving full production rates.
In Brazil, there is an intense demand for finished steel products from different industry sectors that are consumers of flat steel products, including automotive, domestic appliances and civil construction, resulting in high domestic demand for slab to feed domestic rolling activities, leaving less slab available for export.
In May, the Brazilian domestic sales of flat steel products have increased on yearly basis by 97 percent to 1.2 million mt, while for the January-May period, the increase was 51.7 percent to 5.75 million mt.