India: Ferro Silicon Prices Increase Marginally

Indian Ferro Silicon prices were experiencing a free fall for quite some time. However, the producers can breathe a sigh of relief as the prices went up this week amid restocking done by buyers that have run down their inventories. Severe production cuts were experienced in many parts of the country including the major producing areas of Bhutan and North Eastern India; these production cuts checked the oversupply situation in the market. In the export market, trading remains absent as the other countries are offering at lower rates than India. "The demand remains sluggish in the market, but the production was lowered and hence the prices have increased; the supply-demand dynamics are still governing the market, it's just the scenario is reverted", said a buyer source. He added that many producers were worried that if the prices don't go up, they might have to shut down their production.

The government of India launched Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) which will require the importers to submit advance information in an online system for importing an item; due to this many buyers may shift towards the northeastern market of India. However, any such shift will be short-lived only until the system is streamlined. In the global market, the prices of Ferro Silicon remained sluggish and weak. In the domestic market, the prices in Bhutan and Guwahati both remained firm at INR 63,000/MT Ex-plant. Meanwhile, few deals were heard to be concluded at INR 65,000/MT for 70-75% grade.

On the future outlook, the prices may remain stable, as the global market is weakening and the buyers feel that this increase in the prices is short-lived.