The weekly Davis Index for CIS basic pig iron increased by $9/mt to $329/mt fob Black Sea amid new bookings in Turkey and Italy. Limited availability provided additional support for higher prices.
The global pig iron market remained bullish and active. Turkish mills continued pig iron purchases in line with ferrous scrap bookings and accepted higher prices. A Ukrainian supplier sold a pig iron cargo at $343-348/mt cfr Turkey early in August, while Russian material changed hands at $335-340/mt cfr last week. A Russian exporter traded 5,000mt of low-manganese pig iron at $335/mt fob, which would equate $347-350/mt cfr Turkey including freight rates.
Negotiations finally resulted in deals in Italy with a Ukrainian supplier selling two pig iron cargoes at $342-343/mt cfr and at $347-348/mt cfr. Prices increased in Italy, following an uptrend at alternative outlets. As a result, the weekly Davis Index for CIS pig iron in Italy rose by $7/mt to $345/mt cfr on Friday.
Demand for pig iron remained strong in China. Bids for pig iron from the CIS were reported at around $360/mt cfr, but most exporters decided to wait as they targeted above $370/mt cfr and up to $380/mt cfr. Since there were no pig iron bookings from the CIS, Chinese importers purchased several cargoes from Brazil, with the most recent one heard at $340/mt fob.
The US pig iron market was quiet this week because all market participants were awaiting ferrous scrap price settlements in the domestic market for August.