Flat steel import prices were caught once again in the continuous global downtrend during the past week, as market participants await for Chinese offers to resume after the Golden Week and material from other origins was sold at lower levels.
Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South America, at $465-490 per tonne on Friday October 4, down from $480-500 per tonne a week before and a new low for 2019.With China out of the market, some Brazilian customers resorted to material from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which was sold close to $450 per tonne cfr. The deal, however, was regarded by market participants as an outlier, as most cargoes would change hands at $465 per tonne cfr,...