Prices for ex-Brazil basic pig iron (BPI) have been under pressure over the past week despite the previous expectations for an increase due to rising costs during the rainy season.
A deal for ex-Brazil BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content has been rumored at $425/mt FOB during the week, down from the previous transactions at $430-434/mt FOB two weeks ago. This contract has not been confirmed by the time of publication and a few sellers said that offers have been stable at $430-435/mt FOB. “Relatively low demand and the depreciation of the Brazilian currency are pushing prices down,” a Brazilian source said, adding that, on the other hand, after six months of drought across the whole country, the rainy season started a few weeks ago with frequent rainfall and many record-level episodes of extremely heavy storms. for now, charcoal supply has not been affected, but this is not excluded over the coming month, which may impact pig iron production.
In the import market in the US, the tradable level for BPI with 0.15 percent phosphorus content has been assessed at $450-455/mt CFR New Orleans. The price difference with pig iron with lower phosphorus content is still high - at $25/mt - due to the lack of supply of the latter. Ex-Brazil BPI with 0.10 percent phosphorus content has been offered at around $460/mt FOB.