India: Ferro chrome prices hit 1-month low post-FACOR's auction

• FACOR's auction settles at INR 108,100/t ($1,293/t) exw
  
  
• Baosteel's tender price remains unchanged m-o-m for July
  
  

Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices fell by INR 1,500/t ($18/t) w-o-w in comparison to the previous assessment on 10 July. Prices decreased as resistance towards higher offers persisted in the market. Prices have fallen to one month low, as per data maintained by BigMint.

Trends in prices

Domestic: According to BigMint's assessment on 17 July, prices of Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) were at INR 108,800/t ($1,301/t) exw-Jajpur. Approximately 3,000 t of deals were finalised in the previous week within the price bracket of INR 108,000-110,000/t ($1,292-1,316/t) exw.

High-carbon low-silicon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:2%) prices also dropped by INR 1,500/t ($18/t) w-o-w to INR 114,200/t ($1,366/t) exw-Jajpur. However, some producers who are not in a hurry to sell are still offering prices around INR 115,500-118,000/t exw.

A decline of INR 1,000/t ($12/t) was also observed in low-carbon (C:0.1%) ferro chrome prices, reaching INR 224,500/t ($2,685/t) exw-Durgapur on 18 July.

Exports: Prices to China and South Korea increased by 0.5 cents/lb w-o-w to 98.5 cents/lb and 102 cents/lb, respectively. Last week, almost 3,000 t of material were booked for both the nations.

Market over the week

Buyers' negotiations, FACOR's auction impact: Offers from producers were mostly between INR 109,000-111,000/t ($1,304-1,328/t) exw last week, but the market did not readily accept them. The main cause of it might be the lower bids received at Vedanta-FACOR's most recent ferro chrome auction on 15 July. It concluded at INR 108,100/t ($1,293/t) exw, a notable decline of INR 2,850/t ($34/t) from the last auction on 28 June.

A major stainless steel producer was quoted as saying to BigMint, "We're currently operating at lower capacities due to very little demand. Anti-dumping duties on imported material should be considered by the government as well."

Prices dip in China: Ferro chrome (HC60%) prices in China dropped by RMB 150/t ($21/t) w-o-w to RMB 9,000/t ($1,241/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. Trades in the spot market remained limited as market participants were awaiting next month's tender prices.

Ferro chrome tender prices were rolled over by Baosteel, one of China's leading producers of stainless steel, at RMB 8,995/t ($1,240/t) DAP, including taxes.

Stainless steel sector trends: Prices of 304 grade HRC dropped slightly by INR 1,000/t ($12/t) w-o-w to INR 177,000/t ($2,117/t) exw-Mumbai. This was due to a minor drop in LME nickel prices by $440/t. Over the past several weeks, the market has remained subdued, and in the near-term, its prices might drop or stay range-bound.

Outlook

The market seems to be volatile right now and in the coming days, we might see some downward adjustments. OMC's next chrome ore auction scheduled on 20 July will provide further clarity on the prices.