Following the recent re-sale of ex-CIS basic pig iron (BPI), done by an international trader to a Chinese customer at about $390/mt CFR at the end of last week, one more fresh booking has been disclosed to the market.
Accordingly, SteelOrbis has learned that Russia-based Evraz has sold a 20,000 mt cargo of BPI, for December shipment to China at $395/mt CFR. With freight at about $12/mt, the FOB price is estimated at $383/mt FOB Russian Far Eastern port. Although the price seems to be higher compared to the previous deals, some market insiders have doubts regarding any further firming up of prices. “This deal is justifiable as Evraz’s pig iron is with high vanadium content. But in general the Chinese are not keen to pay more than $390/mt CFR”, an international trader commented. “There is a lot of pig iron (nearly 250,000-300,000 mt) still arriving in China, which has to be sold to end buyers. All of it is still between $360-370/mt CFR,” he added.
In the meantime, some global suppliers have taken a wait-and-see position, preferring to closely watch ongoing developments. “As of now, we are out of the market, watching where the US elections will lead the market,” a Russia-based producer said. “We are not offering right now. I am afraid of the production costs here. Moreover, the domestic market appetite makes me more cautious in export sales,” a Brazil-based seller commented.