The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) fell $32/mt to $586/mt cfr New Orleans port Friday following a lower-priced sale to the US from Brazil. The weekly Davis Index for CIS BPI dropped by $30/mt to $557/mt fob Black Sea on Friday.
A sale to the US closed at $585-587/mt cfr from South Brazil for 55,000mt of lower grade, high phosphorus material. Mill demand has been falling, driving producers to drop sale prices.
The Davis Index for nodular pig iron (NPI) imports was flat at $740/mt cfr Nola. Production is limited for the grade and the offers remain near $750/mt cfr Nola or higher with bids under the starting offer level.
US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports decreased by $5/mt to $470/mt cfr Nola. Recent import bids or offers have not been heard for the grade.
The CIS export pig iron market was bearish amid subdued demand. As a result, the weekly Davis Index for CIS BPI in Italy dropped by $47/mt to $596/mt cfr on Friday. Transactions are missing as CIS suppliers target $620-625/mt cfr, while bids, which do not exceed $570/mt cfr are scarce amid a summer vacation season in Italy.
CIS sellers accepted lower prices to Turkey, where a large mill purchased 20,000mt of BPI at $585/mt cfr during the week.