The global basic pig iron (BPI) market has been relatively quiet this week and ex-Brazil suppliers have been waiting for the next round of purchases from the US expected by the end of the current month, keeping their offers stable in the meantime. At the same time, some softening has been seen in ex-Russia BPI prices after the deals concluded at higher prices previously. But activity has also slackened in the Black Sea market.
Offer prices for ex-Brazil basic pig iron (BPI) with 0.15 percent phosphorus content have remained at $450/mt FOB and no higher level than $460/mt FOB has been heard this week. No new deals have been signed during the week after one contract reported in early May for a small volume for a non-US market. “The market is completely dead with buyers at the fences, only buying the bare minimum hand to mouth,” a trader commented. Another three sources have confirmed that the market is silent and that exporters will start to negotiate with the US next week. “The US buyers will need some cargos. So, while they are trying to pressure pricing for now, ultimately they will have to buy, so I guess pricing would remain relatively stable [at $440-445/mt FOB as done in the previous round of sales to the US],” an international trader said. So, the reference for high phosphorus Brazilian BPI has remained at $440-450/mt FOB. The latest deal for BPI with 0.10 percent phosphorus content has been equivalent to $455/mt FOB or $485/mt CFR and offers are at $490/mt CFR.
The ex-Russia high manganese BPI reference price has settled at $410/mt FOB, versus $410-420/mt FOB early this week and just marginally changed from $405-420/mt FOB last week.
After a deal for 40,000-50,000 mt of ex-Russia BPI to Italy at around $435/mt CFR, equivalent to $410/mt FOB Black Sea, another deal for a sizable lot has been rumored to the same destination. However, the final price has remained unclear. Some market sources have been claiming that the seller achieved $10/mt higher than the earlier deal price level, but the leading steel mill in question has denied the information. Also, two traders have heard that a second deal has been done or negotiations are continuing at a very similar level. According to market sources, even if the higher price was achieved in Europe early this week, by Friday sentiment has softened slightly. “We see the downward slide everywhere. For pig iron there is a stable to soft trend. I would say prices [for Russian BPI] are $5/mt below the previous $410-420/mt FOB levels. Sellers are not giving large discounts, awaiting the improvement of scrap prices in June,” a market source said.
Some market sources have been awaiting support for Russian prices from the Asian market. But “Russian supply to the Far East is limited due to the railway situation. It seems there have been no new deals since April,” a source in Asia said.