The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) increased by $11/mt to $338/mt cfr New Orleans on Thursday as suppliers insisted on higher prices amid limited allocation of the material and sales to alternative outlets.
CIS pig iron exporters remained bullish in the US market though some of them decided to withdraw offers as they have already sold significant tonnages for September and October shipment to alternative outlets, especially to China.
Two large cargoes of pig iron (50,000mt each) from Russian reportedly changed hands at $353-354/mt cfr China this week. As a result, other CIS suppliers decided to raise offers for pig iron to the USA to $340-350/mt cfr, while the most recent deal was closed at $330/mt cfr for Ukrainian material around a week ago.
US pig iron buyers are being careful with their purchases. However, they have little chance to achieve lower prices, despite a decrease of domestic ferrous scrap and steel product prices in July, as demand for the material from countries like China remains high.
The Davis Index for nodular pig iron (NPI) imports declined by $4/mt from $374/mt cfr Nola on Thursday as trading activity is low in this segment now.
The weekly Davis Index for US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports climbed by $2/mt to $235/mt cfr Nola, however, no bookings were reported.