October will be a decisive month for Brazilian steel producers, who are holding their breath to see how China's consumption behaves before making decisions accordingly, newspaper Monitor Mercantil reported citing local brokerage Socopa.
Before the subprime crisis, Brazilian steel mills were considering a fourth price increase in 2008 for the domestic market. However, this possibility has been discarded, Socopa said.
Porto Alegre-based Gerdau (NYSE. GGB), Latin America's largest steel producer, has already said it is not considering any more price increases for the present time.
But in the iron ore sector, Rio de Janeiro-based Vale - the world's largest supplier - is considering price hikes for Asian clients despite concerns on China's demand.
Latin America's largest steel-producing nation, Brazil churned out 33.8Mt of crude steel in 2007. The country produces roughly 350Mt/y of iron ore, also the most in the region.
