Prices for ex-Russia basic pig iron (BPI) have remained at a low level this week and a few sellers have been in negotiations, mainly for Turkey, while last week trading had been completely silent.
It has been heard that pig iron from Donbas, the Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia, has been under negotiation at $305-307/mt FOB Black Sea, translating to around $325-330/mt CFR. “I think this should be the lowest level in the market now,” a trader said.
Scrap prices in Turkey have stabilized this week, with some deals at $327/mt CFR, and expectations for $330/mt CFR for ex-US scrap signal the approach of a gradual rebound. But market sources believe that a positive influence on the pig iron market will take time.
Some mills from Russia are still targeting $320-325/mt FOB and prefer to wait for scrap to settle at a higher level before offering more.
There has been information that one of the non-sanctioned Russian mills sold pig iron at $345/mt CFR, but the price is considered too high and hardly reflecting the market as it was part of a sale of semi-finished products. “We expect that scrap will gradually move up in the next 10 days. Buyers will immediately come, trying to buy at bottom. That's why everyone [from Russia] is hiding and not giving firm offers. The most interesting will be after May 10,” a source said.
The SteelOrbis reference price has settled at $305-320/mt FOB with the midpoint at $312.5/mt FOB Black Sea, inching up by $2.5/mt over the past week.