International Steel Market Daily: The Supply Increase At Home And Abroad Is Obvious, And Brazilian Plate Prices May Be Under Pressure.

The Brazilian Steel Dealers Association (INDA) recently stated that based on expectations of increased domestic supply and the continued arrival of large amounts of low-priced imported resources at the port, local plate prices may continue to be under pressure in the future. On the supply side, the renovation of the No. 3 blast furnace at the Ipatinga steel plant owned by local plate producer Usiminas is scheduled to be completed at the beginning of this month. Its output accounts for about 70% of the manufacturer’s total output. Once the renovation is complete, Usiminas’ productivity is expected to increase by at least 20% from 2024.

Data released by the Brazilian Iron and Steel Association (Aço Brasil) show that Brazilian steel imports in September were 549,466 tons, a year-on-year increase of 133.8%, a new high since June 2021; steel imports from January to September were 3.73 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 57.9 %. Imported resources accounted for 23.2% of Brazil’s apparent steel consumption in September, the second highest in history and much higher than the average level of 12.3% over the past 10 years. In addition, 300,000 tons of imported resources are expected to arrive at the southern port of São Francisco do Sul by the end of this year. At present, the price of local hot rolled coils is 15% higher than that of imported resources, and market participants say that excluding freight, tariffs and overall costs, the domestic and international price difference remains at a reasonable level of around 10%. On Friday, Mysteel assessed the mainstream price of hot rolled coil imports in South America at US$590-615/ton CFR.