The benchmark US basic pig iron (BPI) market has remained slow for another week, so trading of ex-Brazil BPI has failed to revive after weeks of silence. Nevertheless, the market is full of rumors as suppliers try to pull prices up and to break the prolonged pause in sales, while the mood among US buyers has been bearish.
There have been rumors that one deal for ex-Brazil BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content at $485/mt CFR, but there has been no confirmation of it by the time of publication, and a number of market sources do not believe the deal was actually done. One of the suppliers has said that demand from the US has started to revive and that the price for 0.15 percent phosphorus BPI should be at $455/mt FOB, up from $440-450/mt FOB. But another major supplier said, “Let's see the scrap movement in the US. The last Brazilian deal was at $485/mt CFR NOLA, but for p10 maximum.” One more Brazilian source commented, “The fact is that sellers are considering $450/mt FOB as a net return.” Also, rumors about more deals from other Brazilian mills have been circulating in the market but have been denied by at least one supposed seller. Suppliers have been struggling to sell even at $450/mt FOB to the US, which translates to around $475-480/mt CFR over the past two weeks.
So, the reference price for ex-Brazil BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content has remained at $440-450/mt FOB this week until new deals are confirmed. At the same time, the import BPI price in the US has been corrected down slightly - by $2.5/mt on average to $475-485/mt CFR, for both high and low phosphorus material.
In the Russian BPI market, the mood has not been that good either. After a few deals to the European market at $440-445/mt CFR, one more contract for a large vessel has been heard at $435/mt CFR, done last week, translating to around $410-415/mt FOB. “It could be for a larger quantity [then previous deals]. I doubt it is to a distributor,” a market source said. One of the sellers has denied this, saying the last sale was at $440/mt CFR. There is not much interest in BPI from Turkish steel mills, which are focused on higher grade scrap purchases. The price in the secondary market from traders has been heard at $430-435/mt CFR, translating to $410-415/mt FOB. The reference price for ex-Russia BPI has settled at $410-415/mt FOB, down by $5/mt over the past week.