Brazilian basic pig iron (BPI) export prices are unchanged this week and most sellers have not been eager to test new offers, seeing stronger resistance from buyers in both the US and Europe. At the same time, some lower-priced BPI offers from Asia have emerged in major outlets.
The reference price for ex-Brazil BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content has remained stable from late last week at $440-441/mt FOB. A few exporters are said to be keeping prices stable or are not voicing new offers, SteelOrbis confirmed. One producer has claimed it sold a cargo to the US at $470/mt CFR, which translates to around $440-445/mt FOB, but this could not be confirmed by the time of publication from any other source.
This price level is already assessed as being rather high for US importers. “I heard that prices from India to the US were as low as $450/mt CFR,” one trading source said, adding that, as all reciprocal duties have been cancelled and replaced by a 10 percent duty, there is no difference between the duty on Brazil and India. “It will soon become 15 percent duty, and how it will all work in the future is uncertain,” he added. At least two other sources confirmed the emergence of Indian BPI offers and possibly even Southeast Asian material at $450-460/mt CFR in the US, but they pointed out that these suppliers are offering lower quality material compared to basic pig iron from Brazil or Ukraine.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import BPI in the US has settled at $460-470/mt CFR, edging down by $5/mt on average over the past week.
In Europe, ex-Brazil BPI offers have been as high as $485/mt CFR, while offers from Ukraine are at $480/mt CFR. But European buyers have been seeing the highest tradable level at $470/mt CFR, a few European sources confirmed. “India could move either way, so I don’t see the tradable level [for regular sellers] at above $470/mt CFR,” a buyer said. Despite recently emerged offers from India and Indonesia for pig iron, market sources agree that demand for these origins will be rather limited in Europe due to higher CBAM costs compared to Brazil or Ukraine. The reference price for import BPI in Europe has remained stable on average over the week at $470/mt CFR, but up by $15/mt over the past month.
