Trading of basic pig iron (BPI) from Russia’s Black Sea region has remained almost frozen for the past two weeks as major buyers like Turkey, Africa and India have not been interested in new purchases at all. Instead, Russian BPI exporters have focused on sales to Asian customers, shipping from the Far East ports of Russia.
Most shipments and new sales of Russian BPI for September shipment and beyond are happening from the Far East ports of Russia. A sanctioned Russian mill has managed to sell a sizable tonnage at $320/mt FOB Vladivostok, while another non-sanctioned producer is said to be selling at $325-330/mt FOB. “There are still problems with railway transportation [from mills to Far East Russian ports], but it seems that transportation of coal [with is in priority] is less now,” a source commented.
In Turkey, demand for pig iron, especially used by foundries, is almost zero with one of the importers saying its sales have fallen by 70 percent in August compared to July. Steel mills in Turkey are also not interested in pig iron imports, with their main negotiations being for scrap.
After a sale of Russian BPI to India at around $290/mt FOB Black Sea over two weeks ago, this market has also been almost closed with the recent declines in local steel prices in India.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia BPI, shipped from Black Sea ports, has been stable on average over the past week, but the range has narrowed by $10/mt to $300-305/mt FOB.