The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) inched up by $3/mt to $576/mt cfr New Orleans port on Friday on rising offers and expectations of renewed activity. The weekly Davis Index for CIS basic pig iron increased by $8/mt to $548/mt fob Black Sea on Friday amid new transactions.
The latest deals in the past week from the CIS or Brazil are in the range of $565-575/mt cfr Nola but some US buyers are considering offer levels near $580/mt cfr Nola for their next purchase. Activity is slow as the April trade wrapped up recently, but BPI deals are expected to soon range between $580-590/mt cfr Nola with some offers heard near $600/mt cfr Nola or higher on rising steel prices and upward momentum for pig iron or other scrap material.
BPI Offers specific to imports in the US range from $570-590/mt cfr Nola, same as last week, on tight BPI supply. The limited availability of prime material in the US is also lifting demand for the alternative grade.
Exporters remain bullish and have raised offers to $580-600/mt cfr depending on destination. A large Russian supplier continued asking $620/mt fob, being sold out until the second half of June.
CIS pig iron exporters sold several small cargoes and achieved higher prices amid limited availability of the material. A Ukrainian supplier was heard to have closed a deal with a trader at around $545/mt fob Black Sea for 10,000mt of pig iron.
Nodular pig iron (NPI) imports remained unchanged at $650/mt cfr Nola. The material is in tight supply and current offers involve the earliest shipment in July. Offers heard for NPI this week remain between $650-680/mt cfr Nola with bid level just under the range.
The weekly Davis Index for US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports is flat at $425/mt cfr Nola with no new offers or bids heard for the material. The price estimate is based on current market prices for similar grades, price points sellers are willing to trade at and current interest by consumers.
In Italy, the weekly Davis Index for CIS pig iron rose by $17/mt to $585/mt cfr on Friday amid improving demand. A Ukrainian exporter sold two cargoes of the material (5,000mt each) at around $585/mt cfr to different distributors during the week.