SMM9, March 11: at the end of the epidemic, stronger-than-expected demand for steel in Brazil, coupled with the massive temporary shutdown of crude steel capacity, a long-lasting imbalance between supply and demand has pushed prices up a total of about 20 per cent since June.
After a sharp drop in apparent steel consumption as a result of the epidemic, major Brazilian steelmakers are boldly predicting that demand will shrink by at least 30 per cent this year.
Now, however, steel mills say some variables have changed the pattern of steel demand in Brazil.
While the recovery in the car industry remains slow, demand for steel has been boosted by a rapid recovery in other sectors such as construction, wind and solar, white goods, roads and agricultural equipment. As a result, distributors buy steel in large quantities to replenish inventories, leading to emptying of upstream and downstream inventories during the productivity downturn and unmet demand for steel.
The delivery time has increased from the usual two to three weeks to four to six weeks, the source said. Some enterprises say it is difficult to obtain 4mm, 5.5mm and 6.5mm rebar. Due to lack of materials, one project had to be suspended for two days and the other for four days. "
In this case, steel mills began to raise prices to achieve the same import prices as Brazilian ports. 10 mm rebar in Brazil has risen 18% year-to-date to 2805 reals / ton (US $529.10 / ton), while the ex-factory price of hot-rolled coil (HRC) has soared 28.2% to 3090 reais / ton (US $583 / ton) on September 4.
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