Flat steel import prices increased week on week in South America while the continuing global uptrend made offers from China, Japan and Brazil more expensive.
Buyers were starting to reject the current price increases, however, due to end-user demand recovering largely at a slow pace after countries enforced restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19. Some previously reported offers were being revised downward for the week ahead.
Non-traditional offers from South Korea, for example, were pressuring the price range downward because they sparked client interest for discounted deals.
"Countries are still facing difficulties from Covid-19," one mill source said. "Demand is not responding as strongly as we expected, and now price increases are being turned down."
Fastmarkets assessed the price for
steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South America at $475-495 per tonne on Friday June 19, an increase of $5-10 from
$470-485 per tonne a week before.
China-origin material...