South American flat steel import prices drop as China market softens

Most flat-rolled steel import prices declined in South America during the week ended Friday January 8, reversing a two-month uptrend after remaining unchanged during the year-end holidays.

Slower domestic demand in China resulted in some lower offers from mills and some short selling from traders, according to market participants. Additionally, there were reports of many Chinese steelmakers refraining from offering during the week.
Still, the majority of sources told Fastmarkets there were no expectations for a more significant price drop until after the Chinese New Year. With slab costs on the rise and a smaller availability of re-rolling material, supply was still lending some support to finished steel prices.
Fastmarkets' assessment for steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main ports South America was $745-780 per tonne on Friday, down by $20-25 from $770-800 per tonne on December 31, 2020.

Reports of offers from Russia and Brazil at around $800 per tonne were still...

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