On May 4, SteelOrbis reported Brazilian pig iron offers trending sideways at $380-390/mt FOB from the Northern region and $365-370/mt FOB from the Southern region.
According to sources close to SteelOrbis, basic steelmaking pig iron is presently heard offered to the US from Brazil at $365-370/mt FOB from the Northern region and $345-350/mt FOB from the Southern region. This price movement reflects a decrease of $15/mt from the bottom of the Northern range and a decrease of $20/mt from the top of the same range. Southern region price offers declined $20/mt overall. The price downward correction is attributed to the resolution of production difficulties, a global downward trend in scrap prices, and competition from CIS suppliers.
A source noted that demand for basic steelmaking pig iron by US mills is expected to continue due to the strong demand for alternatives to prime scrap. However, scrap prices may trend slightly down through the summer due to scheduled maintenance schedules at mills and dampened export demand, therefore, placing downward pressure on import pig iron prices from Brazil.