Pig iron demand in the global markets has continued to weaken further, while prices are still depressed. Some pig iron producers in the CIS, Europe and China have decided to suspend their production temporally or cut their production, in order to lower their costs. In the meantime, pig iron buyers are cautious faced with the ongoing downtrend of prices, while pig iron suppliers believe that prices should be kept unchanged for some time to ensure a more stable market situation. However, pig iron transaction prices have been declining almost on a weekly basis, as orders fail to gain acceptance due to low demand, while buyers' lower-priced firm bids are also undermining prices.
This week, import pig iron offers to Turkey have decreased by about $5-10/mt as compared to last week. Ukrainian pig iron offers to Turkey are currently standing at $400-405/mt CFR. Market sources state that international pig iron trading companies and traders are facing difficulties in taking suitable positions and also as regards profitability under current market conditions.
As iron ore prices have switched to an uptrend in the past week and amid the strengthening of the belief that Turkey's scrap import prices may have reached the bottom, it is thought that the decline in pig iron prices may come to an end.