Indian silico manganese prices fell again this week amidst oversupply and dull demand. SteelMint learned that the steel market is dull and most of the factories are not working at full capacity, which is curtailing the demand for ferro alloys.
The prices in Raipur are at around INR 59,000-59,500/t Exw and in Durgapur deals are concluded in the range of INR 60,000-60,500/t Exw. Meanwhile, producers in Raipur are waiting for the release of MOIL prices for Q4 CY2020. Most market participants expect MOIL to roll over prices as otherwise, the survival of all the smaller manganese alloys plants will be at stake owing to lacklustre downstream steel market.
Meanwhile, the demand for silico manganese from overseas is also dull. One of the major exporters revealed to SteelMint that currently India’s biggest markets are the Middle-East and Far-East Asian countries, from where the inquiries have dropped by almost half this month. On the other hand, demand from Europe is also silent as a cascading effect of a global economic slowdown.
In addition to this, infrastructure projects, which is one of the biggest driving forces for the Indian steel market got a big jolt after Covid-19 broke out and the government imposed countrywide lockdowns. However, many states are still going for partial to full lockdown, which has created many bottlenecks – labour availability being the major concern.
Outlook
Producers are in a wait and watch mode ahead of MOIL’s price release. However, buyers and traders firmly believe that there is a strong possibility of further correction in prices by a marginal amount as the Indian silico manganese market has turned into a buyer’s market.
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