Brazilian flat steel distributors purchased 299,700t in June, down 23.2% year-on-year, said steel distributor association Inda.

When compared to the previous month, flat steel distributors' purchases fell 19.7% in June.

Purchases in the first half of 2014 totaled 2.13Mt, down 7.4%, Inda said.

Distributors' sales reached 321,200t in June, down 7.6% year-on-year. Sales were down 12.8% month-on-month.

In the first six months, sales increased 3.5% to 2.22Mt.

Imports rose 74.7% year-on-year to 153,400t.

Stocks in June totaled 1.06Mt, down 3.7% year-on-year and up 7.7% compared to May.