India: Ferro silicon prices fall to over 3-year low after Bhutan announces July'24 offers
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- Bhutan's new offers decline by INR 3,000/t m-o-m
- Minor decline in China's domestic prices, ZCE futures
Indian ferro silicon (70%) prices decreased by INR 800/t ($10/t) w-o-w in comparison to the previous assessment on 24 June. Prices have now reached an over 3-year low, as per data maintained with BigMint. The drop in offers followed Bhutan's new offers for July at INR 95,000/t ($1,138/t) exw.
Ferro silicon prices in India and Bhutan were at INR 95,000/t ($1,138/t) exw. Approximately 1,200 t of deals were reported last week, mostly in the north-eastern region within the price range of INR 93,000-96,000/t ($1,114-1,150/t) exw.
Factors affecting prices
Decline in Bhutan's offers: This month, Bhutan's offers decreased by INR 3,000/t ($36/t) m-o-m. According to credible sources, the primary reasons for the decline are:
- Low export demand
- Rise in inventory levels
- End-users procuring material based on minimum requirement
- Bulk buyers, except SAIL, having already acquired material in June
Some producers in the north-eastern part of the country were earlier offering same prices and with the announcement, others are also expected to follow suit. Prices were fluctuating before the new price was announced and, in reference to that, a Bhutanese player had earlier informed BigMint, "There are no fixed prices and plants are selling material in the range of INR 95,000-97,000/t ($1,138-1,162/t) exw."
Chinese market: Ferro silicon (Si:75%) prices in China dropped slightly by RMB 40/t ($6/t) w-o-w to RMB 7,230/t ($994/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. Transactions in the spot market were limited as market participants were uncertain of future price trends amid the coming off-season for industrial consumption.
Additionally, ferro silicon futures for September delivery on China's Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) dropped by RMB 58/t ($8/t) w-o-w to RMB 6,972/t ($959/t) on 1 July.
Outlook
As new prices have just been announced, the market is expected to remain rangebound in the coming days.
