[Ferro-Alloys.com] Latin America’s apparent steel consumption fell by 3% year on year in the first half of 2019, to 33.67 million tonnes, mainly due to lower performance in Mexico and Argentina.

 

“Latin America’s performance is reflecting the global economic deceleration,” Latin American steel industry association Alacero’s general director, Francisco Leal, told Fastmarkets on Thursday September 5. From January to June, Mexican apparent steel consumption was 12.26 million tonnes, 6.10% lower than a year before, when consumption was 13.06 million tonnes. Mexico’s steel consumption has been affected by several factors, such as lower investment and the weak performance of the construction sector. “There is economic uncertainty in [Mexico],” Leal said. “While there are positive indicators, such as a controlled inflation rate, foreign and local investments are too low.” In Argentina, apparent steel use was 1.96 million tonnes in the same period... (Metalbulletin)