SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Steelmaker Gerdau on Monday posted a slight beat in its core earnings for the first quarter, saying the United States' changes in steel trade policy helped offset weaker results in its home base of Brazil.

Gerdau, Brazil's largest steelmaker by market capitalization and the owner of mills across the Americas, posted adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 2.4 billion reais, beating the 2.29 billion reais seen by analysts in an LSEG poll.

Still, the adjusted EBITDA fell nearly 15% year-on-year, while adjusted net profit declined 39% to 758 million reais.

Gerdau noted, however, that adjusted EBITDA remained nearly stable quarter-over-quarter due to stronger results in North America.

In the earnings report, the firm said the higher demand in the United States was partly seasonal, "but also customers' reaction to changes in US trade policy, increasing inventory levels and favoring the purchase of domestically produced steel."

Net revenue in North America increased more than 16% from the quarter ended in December, while falling 3.5% in Brazil.

Gerdau's total net revenues stood at 17.38 billion reais in the quarter, above the 17.06 billion reais expected in an LSEG poll.

($1 = 5.6537 reais)

(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry)

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