Pig iron quotations have moved sideways in the past week with the support of the relatively stable trend observed for
iron ore prices and also of the stable trend of import
scrap prices in
Turkey - with Turkish mills having commenced their
scrap purchases for July shipment. Ex-
Ukraine pig iron offers are standing in the range of $375-385/mt FOB, stable since last week, while Ukrainian
pig iron prices for
Turkey, which are also unchanged week on week, are still at $400-405/mt CIF.
Market sources report that Turkish buyers consider the current prices to be on the high side and so they continue to give firm bids at around $395/mt CIF. However, the Ukrainian suppliers are reluctant to conclude sales below the level of $400/mt CIF and instead they prefer to focus on the Italian market, where demand is good. Italian buyers find offers in the range of $400-405/mt CIF to be reasonable. It seems difficult for
Turkey buyers to obtain lower prices from suppliers in the short term as the demand coming from
Europe, particularly from the foundry sector in Italy, is on the strong side.