The merchant pig iron market continued its lull in the past weeks, with the exception of a couple of Brazilian deals in the western hemisphere. The CIS merchant pig iron export market was quiet, with no negotiations due to diverging price expectations in the unclear environment.

In the US, buyers remained on the fence after the Thanksgiving holiday, and in expectations of more clarity in the domestic scrap market, which is poised for December-delivery negotiations. Indicative offers from the CIS remained at $570-590/tonne cfr Nola, depending on origin and quality, while Brazilian offer indications came back down to $500-510/t fob, or $540-550/t cfr Nola, but were also very scarce.

Although Brazilian pig iron was not required in the US, the country's ironmakers sold a couple of cargoes in the region. A 30,000-tonne lot was sold to Peru at $500/t fob Rio de Janeiro for February loading. Another similarly-sized and priced cargo was heard sold in the region also, but no details came forward at press time.