1. Escalation of Trade Protection (Major Event This Week)

June 1

Gerdau publicly urged the Brazilian government to further tighten import restrictions on carbon steel products from China, naming hot rolled coils (HRC) as the next target for anti-dumping measures. Currently, anti-dumping duties of USD 322 – 709 per ton have been imposed on imported cold rolled coils and coated steel from China.

May 25

• The trade deficit of finished steel products narrowed to 425,000 tons in the January–April period, compared with 1.1 million tons in the same period last year.
• Total steel imports fell 25.1% year-on-year, while domestic sales rose 6.3%, proving the obvious effects of existing trade barriers.

Import Quota Utilization (as of May 20)

• Galvanized steel: 72%
• Galvalume steel: 77%
• Cold rolled coils: 54%

• Hot rolled coils: only 18% (due to weak downstream demand and large-scale substitution by local products)

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2. Domestic Carbon Steel Prices (FOB Brazil, USD per ton)

• Hot rolled coils (HRC, Q235): 630 – 640. Prices remained stable this week, supported by firm offers from local steel mills.
• Cold rolled coils (CRC): 680 – 690. Prices kept climbing after the implementation of anti-dumping policies.
• Medium & heavy carbon steel plates: 640 – 650, underpinned by steady demand from infrastructure and machinery industries.

• Carbon steel billets (3SP/4SP): 480 – 490, mainly exported to the Middle East and Asia.

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3. Production & Export Performance

• Total crude steel output reached 11.2 million tons from January to April, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%. The output was mainly composed of common carbon long products and steel plates.
• In April, exports of hot-dip galvanized steel (HDG) surged by 330%, primarily shipped to the United States and other Latin American countries. Meanwhile, imports of galvanized steel dropped 71%, and products from China have almost withdrawn from the local market.
• April rebar exports rose 12%, with major destinations being Argentina and Chile. By contrast, HRC exports declined 16% amid sluggish regional market demand.