LatinNews Regional Monitor: Brazil & Southern Cone - 06 December 2019

* The Instituto Aço Brasil, Brazil’s steel industry organisation, has reported that the sector’s economic performance in 2019 has been below expectations, due to a weak internal market in the first half of the year, and a turbulent external market. The Instituto expects production to fall by 8.2% this year, compared with 2018, totalling 32.5m tonnes. Internal sales are set to fall by 2.3% in 2019, and exports by 6.7%. Imports will increase 2.1%. The steel industry should pick up from 2020, with production and domestic sales set to grow. The Instituto Aço Brasil emphasises that positive expectations for next year are, however, dependent on the “absolute necessity” of the industry increasing its exports. This in turn requires the government to work on reducing the so-called ‘Brazil cost’ and reversing the US’s recently announced tariffs on steel.

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