Russian suppliers of basic pig iron (BPI) have been hoping for higher offers in the near future, though this week asking prices for ex-Donbass material have remained low, and some demand has been seen mainly in Asia. Turkey may resume BPI purchases in the coming weeks if scrap quotations keep following their uptrend.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Black Sea BPI has been at $365-400/mt FOB this week, slightly higher than $365-395/mt FOB seen last week. The lower end of the range still corresponds to ex-Donbass offers. For instance, offers from one of the major mills from Donbass have been at $390/mt CFR Turkey, which translate to around $360-370/mt FOB on average. Some market sources said that sellers offering ex-Donbass material have been ready for negotiations “at below $400/mt CFR easily.” The last deals to Turkey were done at slightly above $400/mt CFR before the elections. “Scrap is increasing, and sentiments in China are on the rise. There is not much allocation for Malaysian and Indonesian billet, so I think that mills [in Turkey] will show demand for raw materials like pig iron. I would say that Turkish buyers are returning to the market,” a Turkish trader said.
One of the major Russian mills, which is under Western sanctions, has been asking for $400/mt FOB, which corresponds to $420-440/mt CFR Turkey depending on the port and volume. This price seems too high for Turkish buyers. Moreover, there is an issue connected with payment in Turkish liras.
The European BPI market has been completely silent this week with the indicative price remaining at around $445-450/mt CFR.
In Asia, a small deal for 10,000 mt of ex-Russia pig iron to be shipped from Far Eastern ports was reported at $409/mt CFR Taiwan, but since then offers for larger volumes from the same mill, which is under sanctions, have been at $400/mt CFR. These prices translate to around $380-384/mt FOB Far Eastern ports of Russia. In addition to this, there have been reports that there has been demand from South Korea at $455/mt CFR, but for pig iron from a Russian non-sanctioned mill and for a higher grade.
