Published by:Amy Hinton<>
23 Jun 2025 @ 20:30 UTC

Higher price levels heard for Brazilian low-phosphorus pig iron deals in the US are giving further impetus to support ferrous scrap prices. Two transactions for Brazilian-origin low-phosphorus material were heard concluded at $426 per tonne FOB Brazil on Monday, June 23, equivalent to $450-455 per tonne CIF/FOB New Orleans, multiple sources told Fastmarkets on the same date.
This level was an approximate increase of $4-7 per tonne from the last US deal concluded for equivalent material, some said.
The increase gives further weight to existing expectations that ferrous scrap pricing would be at least sideways going into July.
This will maintain pressure on scrap. Steel and scrap pricing in the US is expected to firm up over the next couple of months, a broker source told Fastmarkets.
There are multiple fundamental market stimuli that are currently pointing to the potential for a sideways market going into July’s North American ferrous scrap trade.
Flat-rolled and long product prices have been subject to upward momentum of late, with the effects of the 50% Section 232 tariffs on finished steel imports into the US beginning to be felt as import prices spike.
Flat-rolled pricing in particular had been in the doldrums coming out of 2024 and into 2025, with long products enjoying more steady upward gains of late.
Fastmarkets calculated its steel hot-rolled coil index, fob mill US Midwest at $44.94 per hundredweight on Friday, June 20, equivalent to $898.80 per short ton or $1,006.66 per gross ton.
Fastmarkets’ weekly steel hot-rolled coil index, differential to pig iron basic grade Brazil, fob mill US Midwest was last assessed at $548.69 per gross ton on June 16.
Meanwhile, Fastmarkets’ steel hot-rolled coil index, differential to No1 busheling Chicago, fob mill US Midwest, was assessed at $576.66 per ton on Friday, meaning that No1 busheling maintains an advantage over pig iron imports for the time being.
Several US mills were reported to be well covered with pig iron and other metallics that were shipped in ahead of the imposition of blanket tariffs on imports.
Nucor announced on Monday that it was maintaining its consumer spot price for hot-rolled coil at $900 per short ton.
This follows a $10-per-ton increase to that level one week before. Competitor Cleveland-Cliffs announced a $40-per-ton increase to $950 per ton in that same week.
In an unusual quirk, Turkish mills are now soliciting US imports of busheling, a trend that began to emerge in early June, with limited domestic selling options available to certain coastal suppliers and export prices to Turkey more attractive.
Turkey is buying busheling. US scrap dealers are really trying to protect the scrap. I would expect that to continue. There is less Russian material available for Turkey and demand is picking up. Pricing is stable, the broker source said about the state of the scrap market.
Two dual flat and long producers in the region are heard to be active in sourcing low-residual busheling from global supplies including from the US; one secured a global cargo for that material heard at $370 per tonne CFR on Monday, with pricing heard to be more competitive than that of shred.
This is paradoxical, given the fact that two US suppliers have sold cargoes at a decrease of $2-5 per tonne basis 80:20.
Turkish market sentiment is dimmed by four upcoming long mill outages, market consternation regarding US military involvement in Iran and falling rebar pricing.
Fastmarkets assessed the weekly prices forpig iron basic grade, Brazil, fob New Orleans and pig iron basic grade, Ukraine/Russia, fob New Orleans at $450-505 per tonne on June 23, both up by 2.69% from $445-485 per tonne on June 16.