Brazilian slab prices are currently being negotiated at $370/mt, FOB conditions, against $380/mt last week and $400/mt two weeks ago, a major exporter told SteelOrbis.
The slab producer source previously told SteelOrbis that a few weeks would be necessary to check if there was a trend, but with the second decline in two weeks he now believes that slab prices are actually moving downward: “the price decline will not be as fast as seen in China, but it will follow the international market,” he said, adding that small periods of stability or even a small increase could follow, but the trend is definitively pointing down.
Slab export prices in Brazil are recovering from $230/mt in December 2015, until a peak of $400/mt was reached last month.
In April, ArcelorMittal Tubarao exported slab at $235/mt, ThyssenKrupp CSA at $249/mt and Gerdau Acominas at $234/mt, all FOB conditions, with price deals probably closed in February.