Alacero, the Latin American steel association, has reported that in the January-April period of this year apparent finished steel use in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 20.5 million mt, down 16 percent as compared with the same period of 2015. The highest increases were registered in Mexico, up 93,000 mt (+1.0%), in Honduras, up 24,000 mt (+32%) and in Guatemala, rising by 5,000 mt (+2.0%), while finished steel consumption decreased by 2.5 million mt (-30%) in Brazil, was down 145,000 mt (-9.0%) in Argentina, dropped by 54,000 mt (-6.0%) in Chile and narrowed by 19,000 mt (-1.0%) in Colombia, all on year-on-year basis.
In the first four months of this year, regional finished steel trade registered an annual deficit of 4.2 million mt, falling by 36 percent compared to the January-April period of last year. In the given period, only Brazil registered a surplus of 1.3 million mt, while the largest steel trade deficit was recorded in Mexico (2.1 million mt), followed by Colombia (858,000 mt), Peru (560,000 mt) and Chile (523,000 mt).
On the other hand, according to advance information, Latin American crude steel production amounted to 4.8 million mt in May this year, increasing by six percent month on month and down by 13 percent compared to May last year.
Meanwhile, in the January-April period of the current year finished steel production in Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 16.5 million mt, down 10 percent year on year.