Over the past week, ex-CIS pig iron offers to the export markets have declined by $10/mt on the upper end to $380-400/mt CFR, while demand for ex-CIS pig iron in target markets has remained slack. CIS-based pig iron suppliers, who had increased their offers to $380-410/mt FOB in the previous week amid decent demand from US customers, have revised their prices downwards over the past week since their increased prices failed to gain acceptance in other target markets such as Turkey and Italy and demand has weakened significantly. Meanwhile, ex-CIS pig iron offers to Italy are currently at $415-420/mt CFR Porto Marghera, though actual sales to Italy are still being concluded at $390-395/mt CFR Porto Marghera. According to market sources, demand for ex-CIS pig iron in the US is lively and a Russian supplier is heard to have concluded deals to the US at $415-420/mt CFR.
CIS-based pig iron producers expect that scrap bookings in their export markets will accelerate in the coming days and this situation will also support pig iron demand. Accordingly, it is thought that CIS-based pig iron suppliers will likely be unwilling to offer discounts in the coming period.