The Brazilian Steel Institute (Aço Brasil) has lifted its domestic steel forecast by 15pc to 24.6mn mt in 2021 compared to 2020.
In its estimates from November last year, the organization had predicted that domestic consumption would grow by 5.8pc this year to 22.6mn mt. The forecast was made by Aço Brasil in a presentation to President Jair Bolsonaro on the state of the domestic steel industry on Jun 15.
The institute also raised its guidance for flat and long steel products consumption from a projected 6pc rise to 13mn mt for the former and 5.5pc to 9.6mn mt for the latter. In its latest forecast, Aço Brasil expects flat steel usage to rise by 16.4pc to 14.3mn mt this year while long steel consumption could increase by 13pc to 20.3mn mt.
Aço Brasil also lifted its crude steel production numbers to a growth of 11pc to 35mn mt from an increase of 6.7pc to 33.5mn mt projected in November 2020.
Marco Polo de Mello Lopes, executive president, Aço Brasil, explained in a statement shared with Davis Index that the current demand is due in part to the resumption of activity in the country’s main industrial and infrastructure sectors.
He added that a series of defensive actions taken by some sectors, which seek to protect themselves from a volatile market had also influenced the new guidance.