Expectations for steel slab prices remained weak in most regions of the world in the week ended Thursday April 11, despite low availability of material from producers in the CIS.
Prices of slab have started to take a downward trend in many regions, such as Asia and the CIS, while Brazilian prices have been flat.High raw materials costs were affecting producers' ability to reduce prices further, but weak demand for finished steel also diminished the demand for slab.Fastmarkets' index of spot market iron ore prices reached $95.65 per tonne cfr Qingdao on April 11, up from $94.61 per tonne cfr on Wednesday and from $83.79 per tonne cfr on March 11.CISExpectations for slab prices in the CIS were weak for April, even though slab availability in Russia was low.The reason for the low expectations was weak demand and poor...