The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) increased by $3/gt on Thursday to $349/mt cfr New Orleans from $346/mt cfr Nola.
BPI cargos originating in the CIS region were sold to the USA at $347-350/mt cfr Nola within the past week. Sales were made to the US at that same price level in the week before last as well. Deals prior to that were in the $337-$345/mt cfr Nola range.
BPI offers originating from CIS and Brazil remained solid at $350/mt cfr Nola with no confirmed bids on Thursday. Activity is slow at present, but producers are bullish as market participants foresee ferrous scrap and pig iron markets getting stronger and expect increased prices.
On Feb 25 Davis Index learned, Tulachermet—one of the biggest merchant pig iron suppliers to the US and globally—plans to stop the operations of its Blast Furnace No. 3 for full repairs at the end of March for around a month. The impact of the temporary closure on BPI supply and pricing will be watched closely.
The index for nodular pig iron (NPI) imports was flat at $418/mt cfr Nola on Thursday, with no new sales reported this week. The last offers heard declined to $405-430/mt cfr Nola from $430-440/mt cfr Nola, with no confirmed bids at that level.
The weekly Davis Index for US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports also remained unchanged at $254/mt cfr New Orleans. No HBI import deals to North America were reported this week, however, the material is moving to other locations.
New offers for BPI are expected to rise a bit above prior levels of $350/mt cfr Nola after active trades from Turkey for US-origin cargos continue at increased prices these past few weeks. Domestic ferrous scrap trading is expected to begin next week at prices that are $10-20/gt above February trade levels.