In the Turkish pig iron market, after the strong widening of the gap between scrap and pig iron prices, Turkish producers' pig iron sales prices last week experienced a softening. After this softening, the local sales price of C1 reached the level of $560-575/mt + VAT, while the H1 price was at $585-605/mt + VAT.
In Turkey, some foundries have been continuing their purchases of pig iron in order to meet their current orders, while some are trying to get through this period by buying scrap from the domestic market. It is also reported that some local traders have bought some quantities of pig iron for their inventory and are trying to sell these tonnages in the Central Anatolia region. On the Turkish foundries' finished product export side, the automotive-related sectors have maintained their prominence. The effect of the economic situation in Europe has also been felt in the foundry sector. In the current period, the Middle Eastern market remains a major destination for foundries' final product sales.
Against Russian origin pig iron export offers standing at levels of $500-510/mt FOB, buyers in Europe and Turkey are cautious in their approach to these offers. The lack of any new pig iron tender in Ukraine and the postponement of a tender in India can be attributed to the weak trend of demand.
In this context, there does not appear to be much possibility of pig iron producers in Russia and Ukraine increasing their production volumes. In Brazil, it is observed that producers are maintaining unchanged output volumes. In addition, buyers in the US have now adopted a cautious approach to pig iron purchases due to the improvements in scrap prices.