A major independent pig iron producer from the state of Maranhao, in northern Brazil, told SteelOrbis that he is exporting the steelmaking grade product to the US at $270/mt, CFR conditions, the same level as one month ago.
According to the source, the company is receiving many requests for quotations from the US, adding that prices are expected to recover and approach the level of January, when export deals to the US closed at up to $340/mt CFR.
In March, the Brazilian exports of pig iron went up from February by 55 percent to 247,000 mt, reflecting chiefly exports to the US increasing by 130 percent to 209,300 mt, while exports to Asia went up by 131 percent to 22,800 mt and exports to Europe went down by 55 percent to 13,000 mt.
The average FOB export price was slightly reduced to $338/mt, pointing to the steelmaking grade exported in a range of $291/mt to $331/mt FOB, while the foundry grade product was exported at $384/mt FOB.