Brazilian apparent steel consumption was down by 6.4% in September, compared with the corresponding month in 2018, with demand retreating for both domestic and imported materials, national industry association Instituto A??o Brasil said on Thursday October 17.
Consumption totaled 1.78 million tonnes during the month, down from 1.9 million tonnes in an annual comparison, according to the institute's data.Flat-rolled steel consumption was 1.03 million tonnes, a 7% decrease from 1.11 million tonnes a year before, while long steel demand hit 743,000 tonnes, falling by 5.6% from 787,000 tonnes.Mills' domestic sales volumes were 1.61 million tonnes during the period, 5.9% less than 1.71 million tonnes a year before, the data showed. Meanwhile, imports reached only 184,000 tonnes, down by 18.2% from 225,000 tonnes in September 2018.Brazilian steel mills have seen their pricing power diminish in the past few months, with the global downtrend and slow domestic market putting prices under pressure.Fastmarkets' latest price assessment for steel hot-rolled coil,...