Having continued to find the business environment challenging due to Western sanctions, Russian suppliers of basic pig iron (BPI) appear to have no other option but to attract the attention of potential customers by offering prices much lower than those first-tier global suppliers are seeking. Nevertheless, even aggressive offers are not always a guarantee of success. Ukrainian BPI suppliers located on territory temporarily occupied by Russia remain in a similar situation.
Specifically, according to a few reliable sources, Russia's Severstal has been ready to accept $390/mt CFR Turkey for its BPI, for prompt delivery, while BPI produced by Ukrainian mill Alchevsk Metallurgical Complex (AMZ), located on territory temporarily occupied by Russia, is reported to be available at $400/mt CFR. "The availability is not as much as before, but still a few aggressive offers can be seen,” a Turkish trader stated. Nevertheless, another trader stated, "BPI prices in Turkey are mostly tending to $450s/mt CFR levels, while $400/mt CFR is explicitly just speculation, a counter bid from customers, but certainly not an offer”.
Meanwhile, in Europe, BPI produced by Russia's Ural Steel is said to be available at $480/mt CFR Italy, unchanged compared to the previous offers.
Last week, an ex-Russia BPI cargo was reported to have been sold to Taiwan at $415/mt CFR through a trader. Meanwhile, this week an ex-Russia BPI offer has been heard in China at $420/mt CFR.
As SteelOrbis has reported earlier, a Brazilian BPI supplier has managed to increase its BPI price by $10-15/mt compared to prices in previous trades, having sold a cargo to a major US steelmaker at $460/mt FOB. The CFR price may be at least $495/mt CFR, taking into account the freight rate from the south of Brazil to the US.