The weekly Davis Index for basic pig iron (BPI) remained unchanged at $386/mt cfr New Orleans port on Thursday as import markets remained quiet while awaiting further cues on price direction.
Trading activity has decelerated over the past three weeks while recent, October domestic scrap prices have softened, more than expected. Market participants feel prices for pig iron and other scrap grades will remain flat in the short term and start to firm up by November.
Offer levels for BPI into the Gulf Coast are still around $390/mt cfr Nola, for December or January shipment, which has been the approximate level since September 17. The most recent BPI sale confirmed to the US concluded in late September when the CIS sold a few cargoes at $387-390/mt cfr Nola.
Offer prices from the CIS into China stand at $390/mt cfr while buyers are bidding slightly less, around $385/mt cfr China, which is generally unchanged from the activity on Oct 8.
The Davis Index for nodular pig iron (NPI) imports remained unchanged at $420/mt cfr Nola as supply of the grade is tight with no offers or deals confirmed recently.
The weekly Davis Index for US hot briquetted iron (HBI) imports was flat at $255/mt cfr Nola on Thursday. New activity has not been reported for HBI due to low demand. However, the material was likely priced at this level on the basis of price trends for similar alternative grades.