2020 PREVIEW: Five things the CIS pig iron export market will face in 2020

A number of factors came together in the second half of 2019 to create a situation of high volatility in the market for pig iron exports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which covers almost two-thirds of global exports.

On one hand, weaker prices for finished steel products and scrap put pressure on the pig iron market, while on the other hand suppliers redirected pig iron away from the market for their own use, and a new large consumer, China, joined the market.
Taking into account the rapidly changing trading conditions, Fastmarkets looks into five key factors that are likely to affect the CIS export pig iron market in 2020.
1. Sales volumes will continue to fall
Over the first nine month of 2019, the combined pig iron exports from Russia and Ukraine went down by 19.64% to 5.3 million tonnes, compared with 6.6 million tonnes in the corresponding months of 2018, according to data from the International Steel Statistics Bureau (ISSB).
This year, that reduction is expected to continue, Fastmarkets understands.

"The main factor which will affect the market this year is the redirection of...

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