South American flat steel import prices mostly down amid lower offers from smaller mills

South America's import prices for flat-rolled steel were mostly down during the week ended Friday January 29, with China-origin material offered at lower levels for April shipment.

Some customers, on the other hand, had concerns that their previous expectations of a steeper downtrend after the Chinese New Year holiday period would not materialize due to high raw material costs and potential output cuts in China.
"Buyers are also looking to take advantage of privately owned mills that are being more aggressive price-wise at the moment," one Brazil-based trader source said.
"It seems that customers in the South American market may plan to finalize their April shipment purchases before the Chinese New Year holidays," one source at a mill said.

Fastmarkets assessed the price for steel plate import, cfr main ports South America at $680-695 per tonne on January...

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