The weekly Davis Index for CIS basic pig iron rose by $6/mt to $308/mt fob Black Sea on Friday after sales to the US.
Trading was energetic in the CIS pig iron export market. Thanks to robust demand, sellers insisted on higher prices and managed to achieve them. Russian suppliers closed deals with US customers at $320/mt cfr for large pig iron tonnages, marking the first transactions since the end of May, when Ukranian material was fixed for $312/mt cfr.
Chinese demand for pig iron has been strong, as well. CIS exporters believe that $340-345/mt cfr will be achievable soon, with the most recent deals, which occurred last week, conducted at $334-335/mt cfr.
Some negotiations were reported in the Italian market. Referring to prices at alternative outlets, CIS suppliers raised offers to Italy to $325/mt cfr, while bids were close to $310/mt cfr, and a trader sold small quantities of around 1,000mt from stocks for $308-309/mt cfr. The weekly Davis Index for CIS pig iron in Italy increased by $5/mt to $315/mt cfr on Friday.