Indian silicomanganese prices have increased substantially since last week amid better export demand and supply shrinkage in the domestic market. Most producers remain overbooked for the month and are not offering in the spot market. Meanwhile, many smelters have shifted to the production of 65-16 grade, mainly to cater to the exports demand.
“There are limited producers in Raipur, who can cater to the domestic demand in the spot market. Meanwhile, we are not offering as we have enough orders now and we expect a further increase in prices,” a Raipur based producer shared with SteelMint.
Many producers in port-based regions have shifted entirely to 65-16 grade, due to good demand from exports. There is a shortage in the market and producers are unable to provide immediate shipments, shared another producer of silicomanganese.
Prices remain scattered and are completely dependent on the level of inventory with the producer. The producers in Raipur, Durgapur and Vizag all are offering at INR 74,000/t ex-works. Few producers in Raipur are also quoting higher as they don’t have enough material to cater to the domestic demand.
“We are booked till the first week of April and are not willing to lower our offers for the residual amount. The last trade was at INR 73,500/t late last week. Thus, we are not offering below INR 74,000/t anymore.”, quoted a Raipur based producer.
Meanwhile, in Durgapur, prices of INR 74,000/t are readily acceptable and few producers are even quoting INR 75,000/t ex-works. However, deals beyond INR 74,000/t are yet to be recorded.
Exports market upbeat
Export demand surged in the past two weeks amidst better demand from South-east Asian countries. A good number of deals were concluded at around $1020/t fob for 60-14 and $1,100/t fob for 65-16 grade. Meanwhile, few deals were also heard at around $1,160/t for 65-16 grade fob levels. There is an anticipation that the prices would increase further.
“Demand from South-east Asian countries have picked up, leading to increased prices in exports. Although, there is better demand from Europe, but the logistics is yet another hassle to resolve, which makes South-east Asian countries more feasible for exports,” shared an exporter.
There is good demand from Europe for the grade 65-16 and the scarcity of silicomanganese in the country is also helping to boost the sentiments of acquiring higher-priced material. Production of silicomanganese is down from Ukraine. Clubbed with a tight supply of manganese from South Africa and the higher freight cost is leading to an increase in the prices. Meanwhile, good demand from the South-East Asian countries is letting the producers to be firm at their offers.
Manganese ore prices increases in line with supply issues
The manganese ore inventory with the producers are sufficient, though there is an expectation that the prices of imported manganese ore would increase after South32, major manganese ore miner, increased their prices of manganese ore by around 23 cents m-o-m for April deliveries. Meanwhile, due to the typhoon in South Africa, almost 80% of the manganese ore shipments got delayed and thus there might be a slight issue of availability in Indian origin. However, the effects are yet to be observed.
Meanwhile, silicomanganese production is expected to get tremendously affected in China, due to increased stringency in electricity policy. It is expected that the consumption of manganese ore might reduce in Inner Mongolia. In most of the regions of Inner Mongolia, China, smelters have utilized its majority of power consumption limit for the quarter. Thus, the increased cost and limited production of silicomanganese might have a cascading effect on the manganese ore prices despite the low consumption of ores.
Meanwhile, Indian manganese ore giant, MOIL, has rolled over the manganese ore prices for the month. However, the quantity offered is very low to cater to domestic needs. Meanwhile, other private miners in Balaghat are also overbooked and are not willing to lower their prices owing to higher production cost due to increased diesel prices.
Steel Prices increased w-o-w boosting silicomanganese sentiments
Steel Prices increased as compared to last week, which also boosted the sentiments of Silicomanganese producers. Although, today there have been slight adjustments in the steel prices, but producers remain firm, as they believe that there is a limited inventory with the buyers owing to the aggressive bidding from the induction furnaces. Meanwhile, major buyers have procured enough quantity last week and are now holding a wait-and-watch approach as they believe that the exports sentiments are too strong now and might get a bit softer in the coming week.
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