Brazil's largest producer of flat-rolled steel, Usiminas, sees room for a domestic price increase to be implemented before the year-end because the dfegree of parity with import prices has been closer than historical levels, commercial vice-president Miguel Homes said on Friday October 25.
While traditionally local steel is sold at a 10% premium over imports, taking into account duties and taxes, the company was aiming for a 5-10% price differential, he added. Currently, the premium averages 5%."We expect that our previous attempt to increase domestic prices will [take effect] during the fourth quarter," Homes told analysts and investors during the company's third-quarter earnings conference call. "A 5% rise to the distribution sector is already being implemented."Usiminas' main competitor in the flat steel segment, Companhia Sider??rgica Nacional (CSN), has said that prices would be stable until the year-end. But it calculated that prices had hit a bottom and would recover in 2020.Flat-steel mills tried to impose a 10% price rise in October to reverse...