Prices for ex-Russia basic pig iron (BPI) have moved down further over the past week, impacted by the slide in bids from most major sales destinations like Europe, Turkey and India.
The SteelOrbis reference price for ex-Russia BPI has been cut to $335-355/mt FOB Black Sea, with the midpoint at $345/mt FOB, down by $7.5/mt on average from last week.
The higher end of the range - $355/mt FOB Black Sea and slightly below - represents the latest deal price level to Europe, to Italy in particular. According to market sources, the leading Russian mill has managed to sell a sizable lot for the EU quota period starting from January 1, 2025, at $385/mt CFR, though the final volume could not be confirmed by the time of publication. “Pig iron prices [in Europe] were following falling scrap prices,” a European source said, while another source added that bids may move further down, so it was good that the Russian mill achieved this deal, even at a lower price level than earlier this month. “In Russia, many mills are cutting both steel and pig iron production… Ural Steel needs to clear inventory stocked in Novo [Novorossiysk] as the fee for storage of pig iron has increased [due to the long time already at port],” a trader said.
In Turkey, after HMS I/II (80:20) from Europe dropped to $358-360/mt CFR in the latest deals, bids for pig iron have also been impacted. Market sources said that bids for low-manganese BPI may be in demand at $350-360/mt FOB or $375-385/mt CFR, but for high-manganese material bids are even at least $10/mt lower.
Moreover, bids for ex-Russia BPI in India have been reported at $375/mt CFR at the highest, versus the previous deal at $385/mt CFR done over a week ago. There has been information that 40,000 mt of Russian BPI has already been sold at this new level. The price of $375/mt CFR India is equivalent to around $330-335/mt FOB Black Sea.