Although the steel industry in the US remains under pressure, being strongly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, pig iron importers in the US have resumed procurement after a period of inactivity.
This week, a US steelmaker has booked a 55,000 mt cargo ex-Ukraine. Most sources have reported this deal at $298/mt CFR, though some have heard it was closed at $295/mt CFR. Two weeks ago, pig iron of the same origin was sold to the US at $295/mt CFR for 60,000 mt, as SteelOrbis reported earlier. In addition, this week a Russian mill has sold 50,000 mt to the US at $305/mt CFR, for June shipment.
Brazilian pig iron suppliers have also been in the market to sell. There have been reports in the market about a cargo purchased last week at $287-290/mt CFR. However, SteelOrbis’ sources based in Brazil question the possibility of sales at such a level. “I haven't heard about any business done for ex-Brazil pig iron recently. But even in the case of a deal done, the price may have been higher as the US mostly buys pig iron with 0.10 phosphorus content, which is supplied from the north of Brazil and is usually more expensive than pig iron from the south,” one of suppliers commented.
Overall, the market outlook is quite uncertain. “It depends on what scrap does next week. If primes are really short and steel mills see an increase coming there, the resumption of pig iron purchases could make sense,” a US-based source said.
With the mentioned deals, ex-CIS basic pig iron prices are at the range $280-295/mt FOB Black Sea, stable over the past week.