India: Silico manganese prices fall owing to dull demand

Indian silico manganese market has turned bearish owing to the downtrending semi-finished steel market. The buying is limited and selling pressure has intensified.

The producers are concerned about the manganese ore prices, as MOIL increased prices in the Sep'20 revision. This is hurting their profits and although there is limited demand from the induction furnace operators, the manganese alloy manufacturers are reluctant to lower their offers.

Meanwhile, the imported manganese ore prices recorded a marginal fall early this week and prices might come down further owing to the record high levels of inventory (6.5 mn t) at Chinese ports.

In the domestic market, prices in Durgapur witnessed a fall of INR 1,000/t w-o-w amidst fewer trades. Whereas, the other major silico manganese producing region - Raipur went under lockdown starting yesterday night. However, industries have got permission to operate, but many industries face a manpower issue. Dispatches have been smooth for the first day, yet market participants are sceptical on the days ahead and are precariously watching the market.

SteelMint's current assessments for Durgapur is at INR 60,500-61,000/t. However, very limited deals have taken place at INR 60,500/t, thus INR 61,000/t remained the major transactional price. Meanwhile, in Raipur, few deals were reported at around INR 60,000/t, but most of the deals were reported at INR 60,500/t. Moreover, the export prices remained stable at $840/t for 60-14 and $890/t for 65-16.