- FACOR’s auction concludes at INR 100,000-100,700/t exw
- TISCO rolls over tender price for Mar’25
Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices were steady last week, going up marginally by INR 250/t ($3/t) compared to the previous assessment on 5 March. Prices were stable as the market witnessed usual trades, although resistance was seen from the buyers when it came to accepting elevated offers.
High-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices were INR 101,350/t ($1,164/t) exw-Jajpur, as per BigMint’s assessment on 12 March. Approximately 4,300 t of trades were finalised last week in the price range of INR 100,000-103,000/t ($1,149-1,183/t) exw.
Prices were unchanged w-o-w for low-silicon high-carbon and low-carbon (C:0.1%) ferro chrome at INR 105,250/t ($1,209/t) exw-Jajpur and INR 205,000/t ($2,355/t) exw-Durgapur, respectively.
Market summary (6-12 March 2025)
Steady buying at certain price levels: Tradable levels in the market mostly stayed at INR 100,500-102,000/t ($1,154-1,172/t) exw during the previous week. Hence, prices kept largely steady and sellers were slowly beginning to elevate their offer prices. Some of them were also left with limited stocks and their offers went up to INR 105,000/t ($1,206/t) exw.
Buyers, on the other hand, were reluctant to purchase at those levels. One of the key reasons for it was the result of the recently concluded ferro chrome auction of Vedanta-FACOR on 7 March. In the auction, the larger lot of 10-150 mm was booked at INR 100,000/t ($1,149/t) exw and the smaller lot of the same size fetched INR 100,700/t ($1,157/t) exw. Another auction was scheduled for 12 March but got postponed until further notice.
This made buyers a bit sceptical, and after the auction a major domestic buyer informed BigMint: “We have around 3,500 t of ferro chrome in our inventory. Hence we are not in a rush and will plan purchase once price trends become clearer.”
China’s market scenario: Ferro chrome (HC50%) prices in China went up a little by RMB 100/t ($14/t) w-o-w to RMB 7,450/t ($1,029/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. After Tsingshan, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Corporation (TISCO) also kept its tender price for March unchanged m-o-m at RMB 6,795/t ($939/t) DAP, including taxes. Still, the price difference remained significant between spot and tender and was not feasible for either the Chinese domestic market or sellers in the global market.
Uptick in stainless steel prices: Prices of 304-grade stainless steel hot-rolled coils (HRCs) stood at INR 179,000/t ($2,056/t) exw-Mumbai, up by INR 2,000/t ($23/t) w-o-w .Despite weak demand in the stainless steel market, prices rose due to a 3.5% w-o-w increase in LME nickel prices. Nickel prices surged as China’s stainless steel production increased in February. However, demand is expected to remain sluggish in the short term due to Holi festival and the fiscal year-end.
Outlook
Taking into account current market indications, prices are likely to stay within the current range as there is very limited acceptance of higher offers.
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