Pig iron prices - Brazil, CIS, Turkey.

Pig Iron Prices.

Steelmaking input costs - historic price trends

Pig iron is a crude form of iron that is produced by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. It is an intermediate product in the steelmaking process and contains a high percentage of carbon (typically 3.5–4.5%), along with other impurities such as silicon, manganese, sulphur, and phosphorus. Due to its high carbon content, pig iron is brittle and is therefore not directly useful for most industrial applications.

The main use of pig iron is as a steelmaking raw material. Other uses include the manufacturing of cast iron - for example, for the production of engine blocks.

The pig iron prices above are average monthly fob export [not spot prices] for pig iron shipped from Brazil, Russia or Ukraine; or cif import prices for pig iron imported into Turkey. All prices are expressed in USD per metric tonne.

Pig iron data is for harmonised system code #720110 which is defined as haematite pig / cast iron with phosphorus content of 0.5% by weight or less.

Note that latest price points (the last two months in particular) for each country may change, as additional customs data becomes available.

In recent years the world's largest exporters of pig iron have included Russia, Ukraine and Brazil. The world's largest importer is presently the United States of America.