According to sources, such prices could increase in the short term, reflecting the reduced slab production resulting from an accident at blast furnace number 2 at Usiminas's Ipatinga plant. Initial estimates point to a 200,000 mt loss of slab during the period when the blast furnace will remain idled for repairs, but the impact of such shortage over the supply/demand balance could be reduced if it is confirmed that Usiminas has slab stocks equivalent to three months of its consumption. The Ipatinga plant supplies slab for rolling activities at the company's Cubatao plant, which had its crude steel production halted in 2015.