Russian basic pig iron (BPI) suppliers have been holding prices firm this week since, even though demand has been almost absent and scrap prices have been corrected down after the recent holiday, there is no oversupply in the market and sellers from Russia have decided to wait, holding prices stable for the time being.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia BPI stands at $375-380/mt FOB Black Sea, only slightly changed from $370-380/mt FOB two weeks ago. This price level reflects the latest offers and deals, which, however, were mainly done before the holiday, “This week, demand from Turkey is close to zero,” a market source said. The current FOB offers correspond to $400-405/mt on CFR basis to Turkey.
This week, import scrap prices in Turkey have lost $9/mt to $397-406/mt CFR, so major Turkish mills have not been in a hurry to buy pig iron at the previous levels.
“On the one hand, scrap has decreased, but on the other Ural Steel is experiencing a decline in production. Therefore, supply will decrease. And this could be the reason why pig iron prices will remain the same or decrease only slightly, by not more than $5/mt,” a market source said. But, according to a source close to the company, the production cut was “a one-off thing”.
