Russian basic pig iron (BPI) exporters have increased their offers this week, following higher prices for scrap in Turkey and seeing the appreciation of the ruble, which has further increased their costs. However, there is currently a lull in trading.
Ex-Russia BPI offer prices have been mainly at $320-330/mt FOB Black Sea, rising by $5-10/mt over the past week. This translates to $345-350/mt on CFR basis for Turkey. Even though the latest deal for ex-US HMS scrap reached as high as $368/mt CFR, buyers are not in a hurry to import pig iron. “There are almost no deals. If someone needs material, $320-325/mt FOB would be the highest possible buyers can pay. Supply still exceeds demand in the pig iron market,” a market source commented.
A few other sources said that, since there have been no new deals to alternative markets like India or Middle East, Russian BPI exports can be described as being silent.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia BPI has settled at $320/mt FOB Black Sea, up by $7.5/mt on average over the past week, mainly due to rising offers.
