The uptrend in Europe’s basic pig iron (BPI) import market has continued and a few sales have been reported at higher levels. This reflects the limited supply available in the market at the moment, though overall market conditions are weak, and most large buyers have stayed out of the market, consuming material purchased previously, from Russia in particular.
The latest deals for ex-Ukraine BPI have been reported at $475-480/mt CFR and $482/mt CFR Italy. This is up from the reference price at $450-480/mt CFR last week. The previous deals were signed at $460/mt CFR, meaning that buyers accepted the hike targeted by sellers. “I would say the market is at $485/mt CFR, but only because there are not many options. Ukraine is close [in terms of shipment] and available. The price from Brazil is the same, but you need to wait much longer,” a trader said.
Large steel mills are not buying and are going to come back to the market not earlier than May, as they are using Russian pig iron which arrived in Europe within this year’s quota of 700,000 mt.
At the same time, some market sources believe that there may be more offers for pig iron, from Asia in particular, by the end of the year, following the announcement of the US reciprocal tariffs. India, which is one of three largest pig iron sellers to the US, will face a 26 percent tariff in the US. Also, Vietnam’s tariff rate is 46 percent, Indonesia’s is 32 percent, while South Africa’s is 30 percent. So, any potential supply from these countries will need to find other markets and can find a home in Europe. However, overall exports of pig iron from these four countries, including India, was not very big overall, being less than 400,000 mt last year.