Following the price decline in the US domestic scrap market early this month, a Turkish mill's ex-US scrap transaction this week showed that Turkish import scrap prices have decreased, also due to weak finished steel demand in Turkey and declining domestic finished steel prices. However, this downward price tendency in scrap prices is not expected to be reflected in pig iron prices.
Although, amid lower scrap prices, Turkish mills are also expecting pig iron import offers to Turkey to be cut, pig iron suppliers from the CIS do not share this opinion, as they state that pig iron prices had not followed the previous upward trend of scrap prices and so pig iron prices should not decrease either in line with lower scrap prices. In the meantime, the higher inquiry volume for CIS pig iron lately seen from Turkey and Europe and improved demand are also providing support for pig iron prices.
Ex-Ukraine pig iron offers to Turkey are currently standing at $410-420/mt CFR. However, if iron ore prices, which have recovered slightly after the Qingming festival in China in early April, again indicate a decline as in early March, and if scrap prices decline significantly, then pig iron prices may also be expected to decrease as well.