China: Ferro chrome prices remain largely stable w-o-w amid weak demand

Rising steel demand drives cautious optimism in ferro chrome market

Tight chrome ore supply keeps pressure on margins

CBC: The ferro chrome market remained largely stable, while lower-cost chrome ore eased production pressure and increased stainless steel output encouraged some production resumption. However, end-user purchasing remained sluggish, limiting demand growth.

High-carbon ferro chrome prices edged down by RMB 50/t ($/t) w-o-w to RMB 7,890-8,300/t ($1,085 – $1,142 /t) exw, including taxes.

Medium-carbon ferro chrome remained unchanged w-o-w at RMB 12,400-12,600/t ($1,706-1,733/t) exw, including taxes.

Market updates:

Mix trends across various grades: The ferro chrome market remained steady with varied trends across grades. High carbon ferro chrome remained stable due to balanced cost support and weak demand.

while low carbon grades recorded slight increases, driven by tight supply and higher raw material costs. Improved margins had led some producers to hold prices firm and suspend low-price orders while awaiting a recovery in demand.

Cost constraints curb ferro chrome prices: Extended raw material inventory cycles and tighter cost controls at stainless steel enterprises, coupled with reduced willingness to accept higher high-carbon ferro chrome prices, have limited price growth.

Meanwhile, high chrome ore prices and tight port inventories continued to exert cost pressure, affecting ferro chrome producers margins and slowing production resumption and raw material restocking, particularly for smaller manufacturers.

Steel demand boosts ferro chrome prices: The strong downstream demand from stainless steel production has supported the market. As stainless steel production continues to grow steadily, demand for ferro chrome has increased.

With a positive outlook for the stainless steel industry, ferro chrome producers have become more optimistic, as reflected in slight price increases being attempted, despite overall average market activity.

Outlook: The ferro chrome prices are expected to stay mostly stable in the near term due to demand fluctuations, chrome ore supply, and environmental policies. However, some participants anticipate that rising steel prices will stabilize the market, others expect weak demand to hinder price recovery.