Price adjustments in 2021 must not happen again due to the weak demand for Brazilian steel forecast this year. For Carlos Loureiro, executive president of the National Institute of Steel Distributors (Inda), there is no room for rising prices of steel products. “With the premium between zero and 5% in comparison with imported material, it would be possible to think about an adjustment if the offer was low. But today there is no such problem. The market is stocked,” he said. Last year, the adjustments were around 70%, according to Loureiro. Loureiro pointed out that sales of flat steel products by distributors this year are expected to increase 3%. The increase will be driven mostly by the agricultural and infrastructure sectors. Loreiro said that the estimated volume is 3.67 million tons. According to Aço Brasil, domestic sales are expected to increase by 2.5% when compared to last year, reaching 23.3 million tons. Crude steel production is expected to reach 36.8 million tons, up 2.2%.
Sources: Valor/Portos e Navios (*Translated by Ia Niani)