Indian Ferro Chrome Prices Fall on Lack of Demand

Indian Ferro Chrome producers heaved a sigh of relief for the past two months as the prices increased in line with the disrupted logistics and shortage of Ores. However, the situation has reversed now, the downstream market is pulling down the prices since mid-October. Major producers are willing to reduce their prices to much lower levels to cope up with the cash crunch situation. The prices are at bottom levels, as the prices went down by INR 3000/MT W-o-W.

Indian Ferro Chrome industry depends equally on the export market, and with the export demand dipping, the producers are shifting their focus to the domestic market, and are lowering offers aggressively to entice buyers. In the domestic market, competition for concluding deals is intensifying.

Odisha Government in last Saturday approved IMFA's proposal for a Ferro Chrome unit. Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA) would set up a 96,000 MT per annum Ferro Chrome unit and 10MW waste heat recovery boiler powerplant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district. However, with the falling prices of alloys, such surplus addition of Alloy quantity can be an added disadvantage for the Ferro Chrome production units.

Currently, the domestic price for Ferro Chrome in India is assessed at around INR 62,000/MT Ex-Jajpur which is lower by INR 3000/MT W-o-W. Offers for CNF South Korea (10-50 mm, HC 60%) is at around 72 cents/lb, CNF Japan (10-50 mm, HC 60%) is at 73 cents/lb and for China, the prices are at around 68 cents/lb CNF. The export market remains dull with the down-trending stainless steel market.

On the future outlook, the market of Ferro Chrome continues to look pessimistic. Due to the oversupply of Ferro Chrome in the domestic market and weak buying interest from the finished market, the prices remain at bottom levels and under continuous pressure.