Prices of CIS merchant basic pig iron (BPI) have risen as expected during the past week. Suppliers are taking advantage of firm feedstock prices and rising seasonal demand amid tightening availability on the back of ongoing maintenances and upgrades at major suppliers.

Two Russian cargoes were booked by US buyers in the past week, indicating ongoing US buying interest, and were marked by a significant price rise. Having kept offers at $340-350/tonne cfr US, two Russian producers sold a lot each at $347/t cfr Nola at the end of last and beginning of this week. One 60,000t lot by a Russian major merchant pig iron producer nets back to around $329/t fob Black Sea. Another, 50,000t lot nets back to around $328/t fob, based on current freight rates, Kallanish calculates.

A Ukrainian supplier sold a medium-sized lot of low-manganese pig iron to a Western European stockist, at a price netting back to around $325/t fob Black Sea. This marks a rise of around $10/t from last week's bids. The euro dropping to 1.09 per dollar at close on Wednesday is a supporting factor in what some market sources perceive as the first of a number of European bookings. Ongoing US buying interest and diminishing availability of material are encouraging European buyers to return to the market with higher bids, they say.

Demand is expected to be further supported by diminished stocks in all major buying regions, except for the US, even if Chinese demand is not expected to start returning imminently.