Weekly round-up: Ferro alloys prices see mixed trends amid cautious market

• Silico manganese prices edge down on falling raw material prices
  
  
• Ferro chrome prices remain largely stable on market consistency
  
  

Silico manganese prices decline on softening raw material prices

Silico manganese prices fell further with a decline of around INR 900/tonne (t) ($11/t) w-o-w to INR 66,700-67,100/t ($794-799/t) exw in Raipur, Durgapur, and Visakhapatnam. Domestic silico manganese prices in India edged down w-o-w amid falling raw material prices and subdued demand in domestic steel mills.

Meanwhile, the domestic steel billet index stood at INR 37,800/t ($450/t) exw-Raipur, down by INR 550/t ($7/t) w-o-w as of 7 September 2024.

Ferro manganese prices inch down on cautious market sentiments

India's ferro manganese (HC70%) prices in Raipur edged down by around INR 600/t ($7/t) w-o-w to INR 73,000/t ($869/t) exw. Meanwhile, in Durgapur, prices inched down by around INR 400/t ($5/t) w-o-w to INR 73,000/t ($869/t). Prices were largely stable, as the market didn't witness any significant change and remained cautious with purchases.

Imported manganese ore prices edge down

Prices of imported manganese ore (Mn 37-46%) declined w-o-w. Mn44% from Gabon inched down by $0.1/dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) to $6.05/dmtu, while Mn46% from Australia inched down by $0.15/dmtu to $6.45/dmtu CIF India. However, Mn37% from South Africa was steady at $4/dmtu.

Cargo arrivals for manganese ore Mn37%, Mn44%, and Mn46% moved down by 42% w-o-w.

Ferro chrome prices slightly drop after rising earlier in the week

Prices of Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) remained largely stable, with a marginal drop of INR 400/t ($5/t) w-o-w to INR 106,600/t ($1,269/t) exw-Jajpur on 6 September. Prices rose earlier in the week but fell later in the auctions conducted, due to a decline in bids from buyers. However, the market did not experience extreme fluctuations.

Prices of 304 grade stainless steel remained unchanged w-o-w at INR 183,000/t ($2,179/t) exw-Mumbai.

Additionally, at Vedanta-FACOR's ferro chrome auction on 7 September, the larger lot of 10-150 mm achieved an H1 price of INR 107,000/t exw, against the base price of INR 106,500/t exw. Bids increased by INR 800/t compared to the previous auction held on 28 August 2024, reflecting a positive momentum.

Ferro silicon remains largely stable following Bhutan's offers

Indian ferro silicon (FeSi:70%) prices remained relatively stable with slight fluctuations, up by around INR 2,000/t ($24/t) w-o-w to settle at INR 87,900/t ($1,047/t) exw-Guwahati on 6 September. However, prices in Bhutan inched down slightly by INR 800/t ($10/t) w-o-w, reaching INR 88,000/t ($1,048/t) exw. Bhutan's offer for this month was announced at INR 88,000/t ($1,048/t) exw, so prices stayed at those levels.

Ferro molybdenum prices increase on market positivity

Domestic ferro molybdenum prices rose by INR 94,000/t ($1,119/t) w-o-w. As of 6 September, prices were at INR 2,591,000/t ($30,850/t) exw-Nagpur on a 60% pro-rata basis. This price rise was driven by increased demand in the global market, particularly from China.

Additionally, prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) edged up by $0.45/pound w-o-w, reaching $21.47/pound.

Indian ferro vanadium inches down on weak demand

Indian ferro vanadium (FeV) prices inched down by INR 9,250/t ($110/t) w-o-w on Wednesday amid a pessimistic market environment. FeV 50% prices were at INR 1,122,000/t ($13,362/t) exw-Raipur (50% prorate). The continual decline in demand for special steels has impacted domestic ferro vanadium prices. In the near term, prices may decline further as the market continues to resist higher offers.

IEX spot prices shoot up w-o-w

Spot electricity prices on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) surged to INR 3.75/unit from 1 September to 7 September, up by 21% w-o-w from the previous week's INR 3.1/unit. This price hike was driven by a narrowing gap between seller and buyer bids, caused by a slight reduction in supply. Despite this, the gap on the supply side remained elevated, suggesting that the market was still oversupplied.

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