Despite a relatively silent week, most CIS-based basic pig iron (BPI) suppliers do not intend to back away from their positions. Moreover, some of them have continued to test the market with higher offer prices, citing the limited allocation of material with short lead times.
At the beginning of the current week, SteelOrbis was informed of offers for ex-Ukraine BPI at $365/mt CFR China, which corresponds to about $331-332/MT FOB and meant an increase of more than $10/mt in price compared to the most recent bookings. “When the buyer is at $355/mt CFR, such offers do not make any sense”, an international trader commented. “With the US still at standstill, we are targeting to get $350-360/mt CFR from trading into China,” a Russia-based supplier said.
With the ongoing strengthening of scrap prices, Turkish steel mills are said to have returned to negotiations with BPI suppliers, but with no deals reported as of the moment of publication. While the majority of offers have been voiced at $335-340/mt CFR, Ukrainian Metinvest is said to be offering at $330-335/mt CFR, the level which is considered by market insiders “as more realistic” to book at.
SteelOrbis has been informed of Russian supplier Tula's sale of 10,000 mt under a long-term contract with a Spanish customer at $337/mt FOB Baltic Sea.
In view of current offers, SteelOrbis’ assessment for ex-CIS BPI prices has widened this week to $315-330/mt FOB Black Sea, versus $320-325/mt FOB Black Sea a week ago. Current offers are voiced for October shipment.