Brazilian basic pig iron (BPI) producers resumed negotiations last week and a few new sales are rumored to have been done. Sellers failed to achieve the higher levels they were targeting in recent weeks and new trades indicate similar prices or just very small increases compared to the previous deals. Negative sentiments in the scrap segment in the US and overall slack demand have attributed to this situation.
According to market sources, a deal for ex-Brazil 0.15 percent phosphorus BPI was done to the US at $408/mt FOB. However, this information has remained unconfirmed by the time of publication. The previous booking for the same grade material was at $407/mt FOB. “Although it cannot be confirmed, you see that mills [from Brazil] were not able to sell at higher prices, since they were looking for $420-425/mt FOB levels. Since the overall economic data remains poor and downstream demand is fading, they finally had to accept lower prices. On top of that, both HRC and prime scrap prices in the US dropped further and, with looming UAW strikes, steel mills [in the US] will certainly push numbers further down,” an international trader said. The latest rumored deal translates to around $438/mt CFR New Orleans.
Moreover, another deal for 30,000 mt of ex-Brazil 0.15 percent phosphorus BPI is heard to have been signed at $413/mt FOB, though there have been no details about the sales market and the CFR levels.
As a result, the SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Brazil 0.15 percent phosphorus BPI has declined slightly by $3/mt to $408-413/mt FOB or $410.5/mt FOB on average.