Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the first half of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 31.4 million mt, down 12 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Peru, up 80,000 mt (+6.0%), in Honduras, up 35,000 mt (+27%) and in Panama, rising by 6,000 mt (+3.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.8 million mt (-24%) in Brazil, was down 238,000 mt (-10%) in Argentina, dropped by 30,000 mt (-2.0%) in Colombia and narrowed by 117,000 mt (-13%) in Ecuador, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first six months of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 5.9 million mt, falling by 35 percent compared to the January-June period of last year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 1.8 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (2.9 million mt), followed by Colombia (1.2 million mt), Peru (786,000 mt) and Chile (789,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 5.1 million mt in July this year, increasing by two percent month on month and down by six percent compared to July last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-June period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 25.1 million mt, down seven percent year on year.