India: Rising inventories pressure silico manganese prices

This week, the silico manganese market in India fell slightly due to persistently rising supplies on one hand and restricted domestic as well as export trades on the other. Domestic suppliers have also begun to lose confidence as a result of the gradual slide in steel demand.

As per SteelMint's assessment, silico manganese offers in Raipur were at around INR 70,000/tonne (t) exw, dropping 1% w-o-w. Prices in Vizag touched INR 70,200 t exw, down by 2% on a weekly basis and in Durgapur, these were at INR 69,500/t, 1% w-o-w.

Producers' quotes for grade 60-14 remained at around INR 70,000-71,000/t exw across Raipur, Vizag, and Durgapur. However, traders offered at around INR 68,500-70,000/t exw in all three locations, forced by weak demand.

SteelMint recorded trade volumes of around 4,200 t of manganese alloys in the domestic market this week.

Factors impacting prices

• High steel inventory: The steel market is experiencing strong bearish sentiments. Buyers and sellers remain weighed down by high inventory, the latter especialy since downstream performance is weak. Industry sentiments are sluggish. The Indian steel market remains slow due to a lack of demand and fluctuating raw material prices. As a result, many consumers decided to postpone booking in bulk volumes when spot demand and prices both began to plummet. On 27 June, SteelMint's domestic steel billet index was at INR 43,600/t exw-Raipur, down INR 300/t w-o-w.
  
  
• Silico manganese export prices drop: Silico manganese export prices from India dropped by 1% w-o-w. The 60-14 grade export prices were at $858/t FOB, w-o-w on 26 June. Export prices of the 65-16 grade were at $920/t FOB, down by 1% w-o-w.
  
  

Outlook
Spot prices of silico manganese are falling due to rising inventory pressure. Prices are expected to remain subdued in the near term. Moreover, long steel demand in India is likely to remain slow in the near term amidst the monsoons, which might have impact on silico manganese pricing.