According to sources, the reference price for the export of slabs from Brazil is stable from last week at $525/mt, FOB conditions for the basic commercial grades, for the first shipments in October.
The permanence of the reference price is in line with comments by producers that such a price is close to their production costs, negatively affecting their margins.
In June, Brazil exported 413,400 mt and imported 76,700 mt of the product.
Preliminary numbers remain pointing to a far higher volume of slabs exported from Brazil in July, while so far this month three cargoes of the product have cleared customs in Brazilian ports: 35,000 mt at $516/mt, 45,000 mt at $508/mt, and 40,000 mt at $514/mt, FOB conditions.