Silico manganese prices continued to retreat on the grounds of bearishness prevailing in the steel market and dampened buying interest.
On weak end-user demand, Silico manganese (60/14) producers have reduced their prices by INR 500/MT ex-works Raipur, as traders confirmed deals at INR 56,000/MT (ex-Raipur) and INR 56,500/MT (ex-Durgapur). Indian producers are burdened by weak buying interest and have opted to cut production levels in sight of poor demand from steel mills. Sources in the market continue to suggest that there is minimal activity in the market and believe that the market condition is not to improve in this month.
The biggest problem for the Silico manganese market is weak steel margin, which constrained demand from steel mills who continued to buy hand-to-mouth.
A Silico manganese producer remarked, “If mills asked for more discount, we have to stop production.”
Export Market
Overseas demand for Silico manganese is also really low and Indian producers have had to reduce offer levels to generate greater buying interest, as sellers from India are getting increasingly aggressive to conclude deals. Silico manganese 60-14 is being offered at around USD 900/MT FoB East Coast of India and 65-16 grade is being offered at USD 1,000/MT FoB East Coast of India. Despite the offer levels falling, they were still not welcomed by buy-side participants.
SteelMint assessed that as steel fundamentals have shown no sign of improvement, end-users’ demand for Silico manganese will continue to be capped.
Exchange Rate: USD 1= INR 61.7
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