India: Ferro silicon prices edge down on lower demand

Indian ferro silicon prices have further corrected by INR 2,950/tonne (t) w-o-w due to lack of domestic demand and a drop in Chinese prices. Some sellers have cut prices to meet their month-end targets while others, who have enough orders for the month, are refraining from floating any offers.

According to SteelMint's assessment on 20 May 2022, Guwahati producers were offering at around INR 138,650/t exw while Bhutan's offers were at around INR 139,400/t exw.
A Guwahati-based producer told SteelMint that buyers are mostly special steel manufacturers. Due to bearish steel market, they are refraining from booking bulk quantity. In addition, demand from foundry units is also lagging due to production cut.

Traders are resisting to buy as they are expecting prices to fall further.
Meanwhile, owing to slow buying, very few deals have been recorded this week. However, some producers are out of stock as they are busy catering to the government tenders and export orders.

Meanwhile, weak demand and oversupply have dragged down Chinese ferro silicon (75%) prices by RMB 200/t ($29/t) w-o-w to RMB 9,150/t ($1,370/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. This is also encouraging Indian buyers to negotiate hard to pull down prices.

Outlook
Ferro silicon prices are expected to remain under pressure on sluggish domestic demand as Indian buyers have been in a wait-and-watch mode on expectation of a further fall in prices, sources informed.