China: Ferro Chrome Purchase Tender Prices Edge Up

Tsingshan Group has announced to raise its HC Ferro Chrome purchase price by RMB 300/MT (USD 43/MT) M-o-M to RMB 7,097/MT (USD 1031/MT) for October delivery.

Considering the impending holidays in China, inquiries by the major steel mills have become the focus of the domestic chromium industry this week.

Following Ma Steel’s confirmation of the purchase price of HC Ferro Chrome in October at RMB 7,650/MT (USD 1112/MT) up by RMB 190/MT (USD 25/MT) from last month, the iconic steel company Tsingshan Group also released a new round of tender price, with an increase of RMB 300/MT (USD 44/MT) M-o-M, to meet market expectations which significantly boosted market confidence.

Under the prevailing circumstances, most of the factories are mainly committed to delivering orders and have a limited inventory which, coupled with ore costs and traders’ stocking up, has improved the market trend for HC Ferro Chrome. The current mainstream price of Ferro Chrome has been assessed at RMB 7,100-7,200/MT (USD 1032-1046/MT).

On September 26, the alloy index price of HC Ferro Chrome was RMB 7,134/MT (USD 1037/MT) in Hebei; RMB 7,224/MT (USD 1050/MT) in Shandong; RMB 7,443/MT (USD 1082/MT) in Liaoning; RMB 7,631/MT (USD 1109/MT) in Jiangsu; RMB 7,416/MT (USD 1078/MT) in Sichuan; RMB 7,455/MT (USD 1083/MT) in Hunan

Chrome Ore Price Increased

Considering the improving inquiries coupled with the new round of tenders of steel mills, the confidence of ore traders has increased significantly pushing overseas Chrome Ore prices northwards.

Stainless Steel Up RMB 50 (USD 7/MT)

The steel mill guiding price is still flat, with Lianzhong of An Steel and Hongwang offering at RMB 9300/MT (USD 1352/MT), while Beihai Chengde at RMB 9500/MT (USD 1381/MT). In Wuxi market, spot prices of cold-rolled steel were increased by RMB 50/MT (USD 7/MT) by various producers, of which the base price of products from Lianzhong mills of An Steel, Hongwang and Beihai Chengde is RMB 9200/MT (USD 1337/MT), and Bao steel at RMB 9150/MT (USD 1330/MT), with the mainstream offer at RMB 9200/MT (USD 1337/MT). Price differences broadly depend on thickness.

Moving ahead, under the situation of the tight supply of spot resources and the gradual demand release following October tenders, the short-term HC Ferro Chrome market may continue to be firm or even to edge up in the short term. However, necessary alerts are called for the late market because of the negative impact the high inventory of chrome ore might bring about.