According to steel distributors association Inda, steel distributors in Brazil increased their sales in May 2009 by 12% MoM versus those in April 2009 to 278,000 tonnes while inventories fell by 3.9% to 905,000 tonnes.

Mr Christiano Freire CEO of steel distributor Frefer Metal Plus told BNamericas that the rise was on the back of increased demand for appliances, electronics and automobiles. However, in January to May 2009 period, sales totaled 1.25 million tonnes, down by 23.3% YoY.

Mr Freire former president of Inda also forecast 275,000 tonnes in sales during June 2009. He said that "Purchases will continue to fall given that stocks remain relatively high and we want to lower them."

In pricing, the executive said he has recently noticed a rise in hot rolled steel to USD 520 per tonne from USD 430 per tonne.

(Sourced from www.bnamericas.com)