According to sources, the deals related to Brazilian slab shipments scheduled for March are now negotiated in a range of $690/mt to $700/mt, FOB conditions for the basic commercial grades, against a range of $710/mt to $715/mt last week.
Reduced HRC prices in the US are the main reason behind the lower slab prices, as higher slab prices were affecting margins of Brazilian clients in their rolling operations.
The first deals for Brazilian slab export shipments in March were closed in the $710/mt to $715/mt price range.
In December, Brazil exported 466,100 mt and imported 27,400 mt of slab. Preliminary numbers from customs remain pointing to a higher volume of exports in January, while an import of 25,000 mt of the product was registered during the first three weeks of the month.