The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) increased by $8/mt to $386/mt cfr New Orleans port on Thursday as demand and sales prices into China mounted while offer levels to the US continue rising.
The domestic scrap, metallic imports and finished steel markets have firmed in November with expectations pointing to continued price growth through the end of December. Market participants mentioned that the BPI market could feasibly reach $400/mt cfr Nola by the year-end.
The most recent BPI sales from late October into the US stood around $377-382/mt cfr Nola. US buyers are being quoted $390-395/mt cfr Nola for BPI cargoes on Thursday, for January shipment. No deals have been confirmed at that price yet.
The latest November BPI sales into China and Taiwan from the CIS transacted at $405/mt cfr, which would correlate to $390-395/mt cfr Nola. Recent deals are also up $10-13/mt from prior sales that concluded in late October at $392-395/mt cfr.
The Davis Index for nodular pig iron (NPI) imports was flat at $438/mt cfr Nola. Availability of this grade has been limited and the material is being offered into the US market at $435-440/mt cfr Nola on Thursday, the same level as the end of October.
The weekly Davis Index for US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports was also unchanged at $258/mt cfr Nola. Offers or bids have not been reported for HBI as demand has been low, however pricing for the material is projected at this level on Thursday, based on price trends for comparable scrap grades.