Strict Covid-19 lockdown measures in the US and Europe have significantly battered the positions of basic pig iron (BPI) suppliers. China has remained the only country where import pig iron is now in high demand. The main BPI sellers have been refraining from trade citing limited allocation; however, they eventually had to cut prices in response to the current market reality.
Russian producer NLMK reportedly sold up to 100,000 mt of BPI to China last week at $330/mt CFR, with the freight estimated by sources at around $30/mt. Moreover, this week Brazil sold at least 60,000 mt of BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content at $300/mt FOB on CFR basis, corresponding to approximately $330/mt CFR, SteelOrbis has learned. The material is for May production. “While the world has gone into lockdown, China is recovering and it seems to be the only one buying. So the queue of sellers puts strong pressure on prices,” one trader said.
As a result, in the mentioned deal the ex-CIS BPI price is estimated at around $300/mt FOB versus $325-330/mt FOB early last week. In the meantime, the FOB-based price for the ex-Brazil product of the mentioned grade decreased by $25/mt over the same period.