India: Ferro chrome prices inch up as production costs surge

Indian ferro chrome prices increased by around INR 1,750/tonne (t) w-o-w on rising chrome ore prices despite weak demand.

According to SteelMint's assessment on 14 Apr'22, The current market prices are at around INR 120,000/t exw Jajpur. Meanwhile, around 1,900 t of deals have been concluded by Indian producers.

Highlights

• Domestic demand is still moderate, as buyers are anticipating further decline in prices. Some buyers negotiated hard and booked only as much material as possible so that their production is affected.
  
  
• Meanwhile, the majority of small buyers are waiting for IDCOL's ferro chrome auction as IDCOL has set a floor price lower than the current market price.
  
  
• The rise in global chrome ore prices, however, prompted producers to hike their prices with increasing production costs.
  
  
• Additionally, stainless steel prices remain high. In response, ferro chrome producers have also increased their prices.
  
  
• Further, some smaller producers are already booked for the month, but others are waiting for OMC's upcoming chrome ore auction on 18 April.
  
  

China's market review:

As a whole, the current price of ferro chrome (HC 60%) is at a high level of RMB 9,600/t ($1,505/t) exw Inner Mongolia, and sentiment in production enterprises is high. The overall market is at a high level due to high nickel prices but the actual transaction volume is low.

As a result of this weak market situation, both supply and demand remain weak. It is expected that the stainless steel market price will continue to show a stable trend in the short term, but analysts should pay closer attention to changes in the spot supply and demand situation and raw material prices.

Outlook
Market participants expect prices might not fall in the coming days amid high cost of raw materials.