Ex-Russia basic pig iron (BPI) prices have remained under pressure over the past week as a number of suppliers have been eager to push volumes, while buyers in India and Turkey have been insisting on price declines.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia BPI has been corrected down by $5/mt over the past week to $330-350/mt FOB Black Sea.
The lower end of the range translates to the workable level for India. One Russian mill has been offering a new pig iron lot, targeting $375/mt CFR (equivalent to around $330-335/mt on FOB Black Sea basis), but a deal has not been done yet. Another producer was rumored to have sold to India at close to $370/mt CFR last week, and, though this level is assessed as reasonable and the mill “was fairly aggressive lately”, there has been no final confirmation of a deal. In total, 105,000-130,000 mt of Russian pig iron are heard to have been sold to India over the past month. The deal price level has decreased from $385/mt CFR to $370/mt CFR in the latest deal. Some market sources believe that pig iron prices from Russia are very close to the bottom at the moment, especially considering that “railway tariffs will be increased twice - in December 2024 and January 2025 - resulting in a rise in transportation costs in rubles by 20-25 percent,” as one source commented.
Also, some sales of small volumes to Taiwan have been heard at $350-370/mt CFR, but most probably for shipment from the Far East ports of Russia.
In the Turkish market, there has been information about a sale of 10,000-15,000 mt of Russian pig iron at $360-370/mt CFR Iskenderun. This price is equivalent to $330-340/mt FOB. Market sources said that the mill which did this deal was the most aggressive and that other large Russian suppliers are targeting not lower than $380/mt CFR Turkey.
Buyers in the European market, which was the main destination for Russian pig iron exporters over the past few years, have not been active. Negotiations for sales for the new quota period starting from January 2025 are taking place, but the main seller and the largest buyers have not agreed on volumes yet. The price level under discussion is $380/mt CFR, translating to $350/mt FOB Black Sea. Some higher prices are possible for foundries, but since demand is reduced no new deals have been reported so far.
Asian pig iron suppliers, who were creating tougher competition last month, have not been so aggressive lately. Ex-ASEAN offers have been rare and not below $405-410/mt FOB, while Indian sellers have been focusing on their local market.