Silico Manganese and Ferro Manganese prices in India remain firm in the last week of 2016. The price in the current situation is driven mainly by the cost of production rather than the demand.
The current price of Silico Manganese 60-14 is hovering around INR 63,000/MT (Ex-Raipur) and INR 63,500/MT (Ex-Durgapur). On the other hand price remains unchanged for Ferro Manganese at INR 81,000/MT (Ex-Durgapur) and INR 82000/MT (Ex-Raipur).
SteelMint assessed that Indian manganese alloys prices are expected to remain stable in the near future. However, the steel market is improving and there is a positive impulse due to enquiries seen for exports. So, some improvement in the market is expected by the 2nd week of Jan’17.
“There should be an improvement in January. But it will be mostly in the export market, and the domestic market may continue to be stable”, said a producer and exporter from Vizag.
On the export side, the demand is mainly from the Asian countries only, as Europe is on holidays. The price remains same in this context as well. However, Malaysia is emerging as the biggest threat to the Indian manganese alloy market.
Malaysia’s OM Holdings (Sarawak) has gone on-stream and its first batch of Silico Manganese production occurred on Dec 18. The company is aiming to achieve total manganese alloys production of 200,000 – 250,000 MT per annum.
Moreover, the country is also enjoying a competitive advantage over others due to its low cost power. Various other plants within the region are also using such a benefit to their side and increasing their production. Such a production and export capability of Malaysia presents a threat to the Indian players in the Asian market.
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