The weekly Davis Index for CIS basic pig iron increased by $5/mt to $313/mt fob Black Sea on Friday amid strong demand for the material.
Pig iron requirements remained strong in China, driving global prices higher. A supplier from Russia was heard to have sold a large cargo of the material to China at $346/mt cfr recently, while previous deals were closed at $334-335/mt cfr early in June. Moreover, several cargoes of Brazilian pig iron were booked in China at around $345/mt cfr.
Some CIS pig iron exporters in negotiations with Chinese customers, are targeting $350/mt cfr for their material.
CIS suppliers are offering pig iron to the USA at $325-335/mt cfr, with no transactions reported this week. Deals were closed at $320-322/mt cfr last week. However, demand for pig iron appeared from non-traditional destinations. For instance, a Ukrainian producer sold 30,000mt of the material at $363/mt cfr to the UAE.
Business is muted in the Italian pig iron import market amid slow steel product sales. Bids are still reported at around $310/mt cfr, but CIS exporters are targeting $328-330/mt cfr, considering prices at other outlets. The weekly Davis Index for CIS pig iron in Italy rose by $5/mt to $320/mt cfr on Friday on higher offers.