LATIN AMERICA'S FINISHED STEEL OUTPUT FALLS 5%

Latin America produced 53.3 million mt of finished steel goods in 2015, down 5% from 2014, steel organization Alacero said Thursday.

Brazil was the main producer, accounting for 22.6 million mt (42% of the total), followed by Mexico, with 17.5 million mt (33% of the region's total).

For crude steel, output in Latin America and the Caribbean reached 63.5 million mt -- 3% below the total registered a year before. Brazil produced 52% of this total, which represents 33.2 million mt.

Consumption in Latin America hit 68.7 million mt, down 4% year over year. Despite the overall decline, the strongest increases were in Mexico (an additional 1.2 million mt, or growth of 5%), Chile (an additional 264,000 mt, or growth of 10%) and Argentina (an additional 230,000 mt, growth of 5%).