Market sentiment is unsettled in Brazil. Many steel traders and stockists opted to postpone their forward orders, this month, despite the threat of increased prices in the near term. Producers are proposing further rises in their selling values, for business conducted in February. Buyers in steel-consuming industries are unconvinced that the move is feasible, citing the availability of low-cost third country material. The trading environment is stable in Russia. Domestic steel consumption is forecast to increase, incrementally, as temperatures rise over the next three months. Export volumes of semi-ffnished steel continue to exceed those of ffnished steel products.
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