Weekly round-up: Ferro alloys prices fall slightly on muted demand

Global demand for ferro alloys remained soft and market sentiment weakened which led to domestic prices decreasing this week, SteelMint notes.

Manganese ore
Global manganese ore import prices of all grades dropped by around 9% w-o-w to $4.5/dmtu for grade 37%, $6/dmtu for grade 44%, and $6.45/dmtu for grade 46%. The decrease in manganese ore prices was driven by cuts in production and lack of demand. Manganese ore prices are expected to remain weak in the near term.

IEX power prices
As power demand was moderate, electricity spot prices at IEX (Indian Energy Exchange) remained rangebound with marginal fluctuations. The average price in the day-ahead market this week (31July - 6 August) was assessed at INR 5.90/unit as against INR 5.96/unit last week.

Silico manganese
Exported silico manganese prices inched down on a weekly basis by 2% to $957/t for 60-14 grade and by 1% to $1,063/t for 65-16 grade from Haldia and Vizag ports amid low inquiries from importing countries. Meanwhile, silico manganese prices dropped by 2% w-o-w to INR 74,120 /t ex-Durgapur, INR 74,920/t ex-Vizag and INR 76,200/t ex-Raipur. Market uncertainty led to the decline of prices during this period of low demand.

Ferro manganese
Exported ferro manganese prices decreased by 2% to $1,004/t for HC 70% and fell by 1% to $1,077/t for HC 75% grade. Meanwhile, domestic ferro manganese prices fell by 2% w-o-w to INR 78,500/t ex-Durgapur, while ex-Raipur prices dropped to INR 79,800/t. The lack of demand for special steel led to the decline in ferro manganese prices.

Ferro chrome
Indian ferro chrome prices fell on a weekly basis amid muted demand. Reduction in purchase tender price by major Chinese stainless steel producers also impacted domestic ferro chrome prices. Furthermore, imported chrome ore prices continued declining amid weak demand as alloy plants remained highly cautious about buying. As per SteelMint assessment on 4 August, domestic ferro chrome prices dropped INR 3,500/t w-o-w to INR 96,500/t exw-Jajpur amid sluggish demand as buyers waited for Vedanta's ferro chrome auction.

Ferro silicon
India's weekly average prices fell by INR 7,200/t to INR 137,500/t exw, as assessed on 5 August. Inquiries from end-users were limited as they were anticipating a correction in prices because imported prices were comparatively lower than domestic offers. However, Bhutan's ferro silicon weekly average prices remained almost stable at INR 142,300/t this week amid healthy bookings from buyers at the start of the month.

Trade
SteelMint recorded trades of around 4,000 t of bulk ferro alloys this week out of which manganese alloys was around 3,000 t.

Tenders and auctions

• Vedanta-FACOR held an auction for ferro chrome on 4 August. Both the big and small lots of 10-150mm size were booked at INR 97,300/t and INR 97,100 ex-Jajpur, Odisha, respectively.
  
  
• Major Chinese steelmaker HBIS Group's tender price for silico manganese (65-17) in August stood at RMB 7,400/t ($1,097/t), down RMB 550/t ($82/t) from the July price, with purchasing volumes of 19,700 t, down 3,100 t m-o-m.
  
  
• State-run RINL concluded a reverse auction for 31,000 t (40-100 mm) of silico manganese (60-15 grade) on 27 July. The material was booked at INR 83,332/t delivered to plant (inclusive of all charges).