India: Domestic silico manganese face downward pressure amid competitive pricing

• Traders' aggressive pricing strategy impacts smelters
  
  
• Inventory glut, weak steel market induce panic selling
  
  

Domestic silico manganese prices declined this week due to a combination of factors, including panic selling and falling offers from market participants. The surplus material available with traders further exacerbated the downward pressure on prices.

According to BigMint's assessments on 5 November 2024, prices of the 60-14 grade plunged by INR 600-1,000/tonne (t) ($7-12/t) w-o-w to INR 66,000-66,900/t ($783-794/t) exw. Offers in Raipur stood at INR 67,500-68,000/t ($802-807/t) exw.

Confirmed deal (as per BigMint)

Key factors driving domestic prices

Inventory pile-up, weak steel demand: Domestic silico manganese markets softened due to excess inventory held by traders and reduced demand from steel mills. A drop in the imported manganese ore market further contributed to the downward pressure on prices.

Traders offered the 60-14 grade at significantly lower rates of INR 65,500-66,500/t exw ($777-790/t). This compelled smelters to adjust their pricing to remain competitive, leading to delays in deal closures. While some larger smelters maintained higher offers of INR 67,500-68,000/t exw, smaller smelters were forced to reduce their prices to INR 66,500-67,200/t ($790-807/t) to liquidate inventory and align with market trends.

In the imported manganese ore market, prices of high-grade material from Australia and Gabon declined by $0.05/dry metric tonne unit (dmtu), while South African lumps remained stable at $3.85/dmtu.

Billet prices fluctuate w-o-w: BigMint's benchmark steel billet index was largely stable w-o-w, up slightly by INR 500/t to INR 39,500/t ($470/t) exw-Raipur on 6 November 2024. However, billet prices fluctuated throughout the week, which kept silico manganese offers under pressure. Reduced steel demand and a focus on concluding old bookings led to lower demand for ferro alloys such as silico manganese.

Outlook

Domestic silico manganese prices are expected to remain stable. Recent steel price increases and potential production cuts could support tags.