Having failed to find a buyer the previous time, major Indian steel company Vedanta Limited has floated an export auction for 33,000 mt of basic pig iron (BPI), with shipment once again at the end of December-beginning of January. The supplier is reported to be targeting a price level of $445/mt FOB, down $5/mt from the previous level. “There are still no takers at this price,” an international trader stated.
As SteelOrbis reported earlier, a cargo of ex-Brazil BPI was booked to the US at $475/mt CFR Port of New Orleans, which means that the workable price for ex-India BPI may not be higher than $426-428/mt FOB to attract any attention, given the estimated freight rate from India to the US at $47-49/mt.
In the meantime, in the domestic market BPI offers have declined by around INR 500-1,000/mt ($6-12/mt) over the past week to INR 40,500/mt ($489/mt) ex-works in the eastern region of India, while in the western regions BPI prices have settled at INR 39,000/mt ($471/mt) ex-works.