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India: Ferro silicon prices rise on upbeat market sentiments

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Ferro Silicon

BigMint Bureau

219 Reads

17 Sep 2024, 18:05 IST

India: Ferro silicon prices rise on upbeat market sentiments

Meghalaya plants shut amid pollution curbs

Export market witnesses sporadic enquiries

Indian ferro silicon (70%) prices increased by INR 900/tonne ($11/t) w-o-w, compared to the previous assessment on 9 September. The price rise was driven by higher trade settlements, which influenced the market trend.

As of 16 September, ferro silicon prices in India stood at INR 89,000/t ($1,062/t) ex-works Guwahati, according to BigMint's assessment. Prices in Bhutan also rose by INR 1,400/t ($17/t) w-o-w to INR 89,900/t ($1,072/t) ex-works. Approximately 1,100 t of transactions were reported to BigMint last week, within the price range of INR 87,000-91,000/t ($1,038-1,085/t) ex-works.

However, the export market experienced sporadic inquiries, with around 55 t exported to Europe last week at $1,145/t FOB Kolkata. Export prices decreased slightly to $1,140/t FOB, down from $1,150/t FOB seen in the previous week.

Weekly market summary

Market acceptance of higher offers: Meghalaya plants remained closed due to pollution rule violations, prompting producers in the northeast to raise their offers in line with those from Bhutan. These higher offers were eventually accepted by buyers, with 900 t out of the 1,100 t of deals concluded in the INR 90,000-91,000/t ($1,073-1,085/t) price range, setting the market trend.

Contrary to market reports suggesting the reopening of the closed plants this week, a market source informed BigMint, "Meghalaya plants might take longer to reopen as some of them lack proper pollution control systems. Guwahati has been ranked the second most polluted city in the world, and this is becoming a serious issue."

China market trends

Ferro silicon (Si:75%) prices in China remained stable w-o-w at RMB 6,580/t ($928/t) ex-works Inner Mongolia. Despite earlier reports of production cuts, sufficient inventories and limited procurement kept prices unchanged. However, ferro silicon futures for January 2025 delivery on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) experienced a slight increase of RMB 68/t ($10/t) w-o-w, reaching RMB 6,202/t ($874/t) on 13 September.

Outlook

In the coming days, prices are expected to remain range-bound with minor fluctuations. This is because the timeline for Meghalaya plants' receiving clearance from the pollution control board to resume operations remains uncertain.