India: Ferro silicon prices fall w-o-w amid moderate demand

Indian ferro silicon prices have been continuously sliding since the past few weeks owing to limited trade in the domestic market. Weekly average prices fell by INR 5,000/t (3.6%). The market witnessed moderate demand as some buyers were in a wait-and-watch mode on expectations of further price drops.

Buyers were deterred by last week's ferro silicon price of INR 140,000/t exw. So, Bhutanese producers reduced the offers to around INR 135,000/t exw, as assessed on 7 October 2022 by SteelMint, while Guwahati's seller was forced to offer lower prices in tandem.

Market highlights
Producers reduced ferro silicon prices in a bid to whip up customer interest amid limited demand. The high inventory in the initial part of the month also prompted Bhutanese smelters to lower their offers. Meanwhile, local ferro silicon prices fell in order to compete with low overseas prices.

Meanwhile, only some deals were concluded this week on selling pressure, while some deals closed due to low inventory held at buyers' locations. However, the majority of market participants were less active due to festival holidays.

On the supply side, as expected, production of ferro silicon increased as several ferro manganese producers shifted to ferro silicon.

China market overview
Chinese ferro silicon (75%) prices remained stable w-o-w at RMB 8,400/t exw-Inner Mongolia and exw-Quinghai as per Customs data. Almost negligible transactions were recorded in the domestic market as the majority of the transaction were completed prior to the Golden Week holidays.

Outlook
Prices will remain under pressure in the upcoming week as producers would want to match imported prices.