Offers from the main Russian basic pig iron (BPI) suppliers have increased sharply or have disappeared this week as suppliers have been bullish, even though the tradable levels have failed to improve further and overall sentiment is not so bright.
Offers from one of the major mills have been heard at $380/mt FOB, though last week they were $20/mt lower. Another mill has been targeting $400/mt FOB for low-manganese pig iron. “These high prices mean they don't want to sell now,” an international trader said.
However, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Black Sea BPI has remained stable from the level reported early this week at $350-360/mt FOB, and it is up by $5/mt from the previous week. This price reflects the latest deals done to Asia and Europe, though buyers have been reluctant to accept any further rises. “I believe only Asia is the buying market now, only it can provide support,” a Turkish source said. Last week, deals for Chinese traders were done at $355-360/mt FOB Black Sea, with one of the main targeted markets being India. But “The Chinese have not reacted to the price idea of $410/mt CFR,” a third trader said. The freight from Black Sea to India’s Paradip port for a large vessel has been assessed at $50/mt.
“There is not much activity in the market. DMZ and Alchevsk don’t have volumes to offer, Severstal is not in the market, nor is NLMK. When inquiries will start to come, pig iron [negotiations] will emerge and we will see the real market price,” a source said.
In Italy, the latest deals for ex-Russia BPI were done at $380-385/mt CFR and $390/mt CFR – “in line with expectations,” a trader commented. The freight is assessed at $30-35/mt for 30,000 mt.
