Offer prices for ex-Russia basic pig iron (BPI) have been voiced at high levels, so they have been totally unworkable in the Turkish market. Some sales at higher levels have been reported to the Far East after a long pause, while not many Russian mills have been aggressively offering in the export market, at least so far. Nevertheless, with the current low scrap prices, the outlook for the BPI market is still negative.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia BPI has settled at $350-380/mt FOB Black Sea, up by $12.5/mt on average since last week. The higher end of the range corresponds to the recent bookings of a total of 15,000 mt of Russian pig iron to the Far East. Also, some offers of Russian material from a major Russian port have already been heard at $370/mt FOB.
However, in the Turkish import market, major Russian mills have been looking for $360-365/mt CFR only for medium to high volumes, which has been not available, at least for now. Some smaller lots can be booked at $370/mt CFR (translating to $350/mt FOB at the highest). The gap between offer price levels and bids in Turkey has widened sharply as rare offers have been heard at $395-400/mt CFR or above.
One of the Russian mills is expected to enter the market with new offers for September shipment next week. “But they already have some stocks at port, so they may be given below $370/mt FOB to push sales,” a source said. Another producer has technical issues and is not planning to be in the export market in the near future. Two other sellers are still placing offers, but “the market is really weak, and soon most people will leave on holidays. Buyers will not build up stocks,” a source said.
