Prices for import basic pig iron (BPI) in the US have increased compared to late March and, even though most market sources agree on the trend, transactions have remained limited and partly unconfirmed, since there is more speculation in the rising market.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Brazil BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content has settled at $460-470/mt FOB, up by $2.5/mt from the previous day and adding $7.5/mt from late March. The lower end of the range represents the previous confirmed deal, already reported by SteelOrbis a week ago. But the higher end of the range shows the level at which a new contract has been rumored for June shipment. A number of market sources heard about the deal, but it has remained unconfirmed by the parties supposed to be involved by the time of publication on Friday, April 10. In terms of supply, Brazilian producers are still reporting that they are facing production difficulties due to rainfall, while exchange rate conditions also remain unfavorable.
The freight from south Brazil to the US is assessed at $30/mt. “For pig iron with phosphorus [content] of 0.15 percent, sellers are asking $500/mt CFR. Maybe someone was successful, but it wasn’t easy in my view,” a trader commented. One of the Brazilian mills said that $470/mt FOB is the level of new offers, up by $5/mt over the past week, but he could not confirm a deal. From the US side, the tradable level has been heard at $490-495/mt CFR for BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus.
For material with 0.10 percent phosphorus, there have been reports of selling at $505-510/mt CFR from north Brazil to the US, translating to $480-485/mt FOB. This week, the tradable level has been confirmed by Brazilian sources at $480/mt FOB. But the sales volume was limited as most customers are still resisting and claim they do not want to accept anything above $500/mt CFR.
Ukrainian mills have been targeting $500-510/mt CFR for different grades, but only a partial cargo of low-phosphorus material has been sold at the lower end of the range.
The SteelOrbis reference price for import BPI in the US (which includes both low- and high-phosphorus materials) has settled at $490-510/mt CFR, considering all the rumors, rising by $15/mt over the past week.
