- High inventories with mills pressure prices
- MOIL increases prices across grades from Apr
The domestic silico manganese market experienced a slight decline in prices w-o-w. This decline was primarily driven by limited trade activity by mills and competitive pricing.
On 1 April, 2025, domestic prices of 60-14 grade silico manganese declined by INR 560/tonne (t) exw ($7/t), according to BigMint’s assessment. Prices across key regions inched down to INR 70,500-72,100/tonne ($825-843/t). This decline was driven by need-based buying and competitive pricing across India.
In Raipur, offers mainly hovered in the INR 71,800-72,500/t ($840-$848/tonne) band. Meanwhile, in Vizag, prices ranged between INR 72,000-72,300/t ($843-846/t) exw, with minimal trades taking place.
Confirmed deals (as per BigMint)
Market overview
Bargaining power shifts to buyers: The bargaining power has shifted to buyers as steel mills, with sufficient inventories, have adopted a cautious approach to procurement. This has pressured smelters to offer competitive prices to secure deals. Some transactions were closed at lower rates of INR 70,500-71,500/t exw in Durgapur and Raipur. Consequently, smelters are now compelled to offer more competitive prices to secure orders.
Prices drop slightly amid robust smelter rates: The domestic silico manganese market has seen a slight drop in prices. Smelters are maintaining robust prices without offering discounts below the standard rate. Some key smelters have limited their supply by staying out of the retail market, which has helped prevent domestic prices from falling further. However, smelters in Durgapur and Raigarh are closing deals at around INR 70,000-71,000 exw, putting pressure on smelters in other key regions to reduce their prices. Additionally, MOIL has recently raised its manganese ore offers for April 2025 dispatches, further supporting the prices.
MOIL announces price increase across grades: MOIL, the Indian state-owned mining company, has implemented a price adjustment for manganese ore, effective 1 April 2025. Prices of grades higher than Mn44% have been modestly increased by 3%, while those for grades below Mn44% have experienced a slight rise of 0.5%. Meanwhile, all SMGR grades (Mn 30%, Mn 25%, Mn 20%) also edged up by 0.5% m-o-m. This may encourage smelters to raise prices of all grades.
Outlook
The domestic silico manganese market is expected to experience fluctuations in the near term due to a mismatch in supply and demand. The potential increase in electricity tariffs by DVC in Bengal, which could raise the current tariff prices in Durgapur to INR 7/unit, may impact production costs. If these new tariffs are implemented from 1 April, 2025, smelters are likely to keep their offers higher. The overall market outlook remains uncertain, with the potential for price movements in both directions.
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