Steel Price Tracker: Price hike momentum in Brazil stalling

Research evidence excerpt

Steel Price Tracker: Price hike momentum in Brazil stalling

Weekly news flow

Asia: Prices down w/w; BF op rates at 90.6%

Steel export prices were down in China last week, with Chinese exported hot rolled coil

(HRC) down $1/t to $483/t and rebar down $1/t to $496/t. According to BofA’s China

Basic Materials team, at the start of the week, ferrous markets remained range-bound

amid limited changes in fundamentals and news flow. Iron ore prices later rebounded on

expectations of potential supply disruptions from BHP union strike action and higher

energy costs linked to Middle East tensions, supporting a broader rally across the ferrous

complex. Meanwhile, mixed coking coal auction results and ongoing negotiations over

the tenth round of coke price hikes weighed on sentiment, leading to a modest pullback

in futures prices. Spot rebar and HRC cash margins fell RMB 20/t and rose RMB 5/t

WoW to -RMB 399/t and -RMB 410/t, respectively (see China Basic Materials latest

update). Meantime, Blast furnace (BF) capacity utilization rate among 247 Chinese steel

mills under Mysteel's survey dropped 0.8 percentage point on week to 90.6%.

According to Platts, in the flat steel segment, mills kept discipline amid production

maintenance and planned crude steel output reductions, although elevated inventories

and weak spot demand continued to limit any price recovery. In the long steel market,

billet and rebar prices were virtually flat, supported by firm offers and higher energy

costs. While market participants reported some signs of improving customer sentiment

and a gradual pickup in inquiries, underlying demand remained subdued, with buyers

staying cautious and mills prioritizing inventory management over price increases.

Türkiye: muted market amid seasonal weakness