Although sources in the US slab market say that sales have declined in the last month, there are rumors that the market might start to improve by August. Weak demand and high availability have contributed to the sales downtrend--sources tell SteelOrbis that re-rollers are being offered additional slabs over their contract amount with domestic suppliers, but they are unable to take all that is offered--and even a drop in slab prices has not done much to turn the trend around. A steady decline in US domestic flat rolled spot prices has been a contributing factor as well, but even though sources think flats mills might try to stem the downtrend with a price increase announcement soon, they continue to hold high slab inventories and are not interested in stocking up on even attractive slab import offers.
In the last month, import offer prices for slab in the US decreased by about $50/mt across the board from various sources: most imports from Brazil are now $530/mt CFR; offers from CIS are $510/mt CFR; and slabs from Mexico are now $540/mt CFR. Next month, however, prices are not projected to drop so dramatically--sources expect a slight decrease in import offers, with a stabilizing trend near the end of summer.