Weekly round-up: Indian ferro alloys prices reflect mixed trends

• Ferro silicon tags drop on bid-offer disparities
  
  
• Silico manganese edges up on production cuts
  
  

Indian ferro alloys prices exhibited mixed trends this week.

Silico manganese prices inch up amid production cuts

Domestic silico manganese prices inched up w-o-w amid production cuts in key producing regions. Prices of the 60-14 grade edged up by INR 500/t ($6/t) w-o-w to INR 64,900-66,000/t ($765-778/t) exw in Raipur, Durgapur, and Visakhapatnam.

Prices of 65-16 were largely stable at $880/t FOB Vizag/Haldia, India, up slightly by $5/t w-o-w.

However, domestic steel billets edged down by INR 150/t ($2/t) w-o-w to INR 38,650/t ($456/t) exw-Raipur on 13 December 2024.

Ferro manganese prices largely stable

Indian ferro manganese (HC 70%) prices remained mostly stable w-o-w with a slight decline of around INR 350/t ($4/t) to INR 66,550/t ($785/t) exw in Raipur and INR 500/t ($6/t) to INR 66,500/t ($784/t) exw in Durgapur. Prices edged lower due to resistance to higher offers quoted and weak demand in the export market, leading to a lack of acceptance towards elevated pricing.

Meanwhile, HC 75% ferro manganese also edged down by $8/t w-o-w to $892/t FOB Vizag/Haldia.

Imported manganese ore prices inch up

Prices of imported manganese ore (Mn 37-46%) edged up w-o-w. Mn44% from Gabon stood at $4.2/dry metric tonne per unit (dmtu), up by $0.05/dmtu and Mn37% from South Africa was at $4.08/dmtu, up by $0.08/dmtu w-o-w. Meanwhile, Mn46% from Australia stood at $4.5/dmtu CIF India, a slight rise of $0.15/dmtu.

Additionally, Eramet Comilog's January 2025 manganese ore prices rose by $0.15/dmtu m-o-m to $4.1/dmtu (44.5% lumps) and $3.9/dmtu (43% chips). South32 raised 37% Mn ore lumps by $0.25/dmtu m-o-m to $4.05/dmtu, while UMK kept 36% Mn ore lumps steady m-o-m at $3.90/dmtu. All prices are CIF China.

Ferro silicon offers decline on bid-offer disparities

Indian ferro silicon (FeSi: 70%) prices dipped by INR 1,300/t ($15/t) w-o-w to INR 102,800/t ($1,212/t) exw-Guwahati on 13 December. Bhutan's prices also edged down by INR 500/t ($6/t) to INR 103,500/t ($1,220/t) exw. Prices fell amid bid-offer disparities during negotiations between sellers and buyers, majorly in northeastern India.

Ferro chrome prices remain largely stable amid limited market movement

Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si: 4%) prices were largely stable, registering a slight decline of INR 100/t ($1/t) to INR 105,500/t ($1,244/t) exw-Jajpur. Prices remained steady, as market players adjusted their approach - most sellers did not make offers, and buyers bought on as-needed basis.

Meanwhile, prices of 304-grade stainless steel hot-rolled coils (HRCs) were steady w-o-w at INR 178,000/t ($2,098/t) exw-Mumbai.

Indian ferro molybdenum prices remain largely stable

Domestic ferro molybdenum prices were range-bound with a slight rise of INR 13,000/t ($153/t) w-o-w. As of 13 December, prices were at INR 2,551,000/t ($30,080/t) exw-Nagpur on a 60% pro-rata basis. Prices were steady, as routine market activities were observed, with no significant variations in offers.

Meanwhile, a marginal uptick of $0.04/lb was observed in prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME), which stood at $21.56/lb.

Ferro vanadium prices decline on continuing poor demand

Indian ferro vanadium (FeV 50%) prices fell by INR 8,000/t ($94/t) w-o-w to INR 1,099,000/t ($12,900/t) exw-Raipur. Market activity remained sluggish due to weak demand for special steel, with limited purchases by cautious traders and low transaction volumes. Manufacturers struggled with pricing, and both supply and demand sides showed hesitancy.

IEX spot prices stable

Spot electricity prices on the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) remained largely stable at INR 3.6/unit during 7-14 December 2024, compared to the previous week's INR 3.54/unit, inching up by 2% w-o-w.

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