Following a long-term absence of any success in export trading, a Brazilian basic pig iron (BPI) supplier decided to accept a price far below the levels which were voiced earlier. Accordingly, as of late last week a major US steelmaker booked a 50,000 mt cargo of ex-Brazil BPI, for September shipment at $450/mt FOB, which translates to around $490/mt CFR Port of New Orleans, taking into consideration the current freight rate at $40/mt.
It is noteworthy that the FOB price is around $115/mt lower than Brazilian BPI suppliers had been targeting before the negotiations. “It appears to be below break-even prices,” a European trader commented. Earlier, in late June ex-Brazil BPI was booked to the US at $592/mt FOB ($630/mt CFR Port of New Orleans), while afterwards US steelmakers took a break from bookings, thereby exerting negative pressure on the positions of global BPI suppliers.
Meanwhile, in Turkey offers from distributors for ex-Brazil BPI with high manganese content are said to be available at $430-440/mt CFR, while the material with low manganese content is offered at $480-485/mt CFR.