India: Ferro chrome prices remain stable amid bid-offer disparities

• Bids rise m-o-m at OMC's chrome ore auction
  
  
• Tsingshan, TISCO reduce tender prices for Nov
  
  

Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices remained unchanged w-o-w against the previous assessment on 16 October. Prices were steady as bid-offer disparities prevailed. Following the latest auction from the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), offers were raised by most suppliers, but these faced resistance from buyers.

Steadiness in domestic, export prices

As per BigMint's assessment on 23 October, Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices stood at INR 110,400/t ($1,313/t) exw-Jajpur. Deals of around 900 t were reported in the price bracket of INR 110,000-111,000/t ($1,308-1,320/t) exw.

Low-carbon (C:0.1%) ferro chrome prices were also unchanged w-o-w at INR 211,000/t ($2,510/t) exw-Durgapur. Trades for around 150 t were concluded in the range of INR 211,000-215,000/t ($2,510-2,557/t) exw.

A marginal uptick of INR 500/t ($6/t) w-o-w was observed in high-carbon, low-silicon ferro chrome prices, which touched INR 116,500/t ($1,386/t) exw-Jajpur.

Export offers to China, Japan, and South Korea were stable w-o-w.

Market highlights

Elevated offers post rise in bids at OMC's auction: At OMC's chrome ore auction on 18 October, 23,500 t out of the 33,500 t offered were booked. Bids increased by 1-11% (INR 192-2,883/t) m-o-m and were higher by 9-64% (INR 1,800-15,200/t) compared to the base price.

Following the auction, sellers raised their offers, citing increased cost of production. However, buyers were cautious about procuring material at the higher prices and held back, waiting to see if the uptrend would sustain. A major buyer in the domestic market informed BigMint, "Ferro chrome consumption will decrease if prices keep on increasing following OMC's auction. At the moment, the market is more inclined towards affordability, as obtaining profits is the primary goal of all players."

Chinese tender prices decline: China's Tsingshan and TISCO reduced their ferro chrome tender prices for November by RMB 200/t ($28/t) and RMB 150/t ($21/t) to RMB 8,095/t ($1,138/t) and RMB 7,945/t ($1,117/t), respectively. Sluggish demand for stainless steel and sufficient availability of ferro chrome led to this drop.

Domestic prices in China (HC60%) also inched down by RMB 100/t ($14/t) w-o-w to RMB 8,200/t ($1,153/t) exw-Inner Mongolia.

Stagnant stainless steel market holds firm: Prices of 304-grade stainless steel hot-rolled coils (HRCs) were stable w-o-w at INR 182,000/t ($2,165/t) exw-Mumbai. Weak demand continued to weigh on the market, and mainly need-based procurement was observed.

Outlook

The near-term price trajectory will depend on whether buyers accept the rise in offers.