The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) increased by $21/mt to $477/mt cfr New Orleans port on Thursday following fresh deals from Brazil and the CIS.
The US booked a cargo from Brazil at $470/mt cfr Nola and a much larger booking from the CIS came in at $480/mt cfr Nola.
Metallic import increases have surged in tandem with domestic scrap, exports, and steel prices over the past month. In fact, BPI prices have risen about $100/mt since the beginning of November. Recent BPI values in China are at around $495-500/mt cfr, also indicating a growth of approximately $100/mt compared with $395/mt cfr levels at the start of November.
The Davis Index for nodular pig iron (NPI) imports moved up by $70/mt to $565/mt cfr Nola on limited availability and current scrap price points. Some of the few existing offers for remaining material are as high as $580/mt cfr Nola, for Q2 2021 shipment.
The weekly Davis Index for US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports rose by $15/mt to $345/mt cfr Nola. The import price estimate is based on domestic HBI trades, currently transacting at about $10/gt above prime scrap grades at production origin sites such as Cliffs in Ohio or voestalpine in Texas.