- Output dips due to lower days in Sep’25
- Average daily output rises 2.3% m-o-m
Mysteel Global: China’s total ferro silicon output declined slightly in September after a continuous rise over the prior two months, with the tonnage easing by 5,070 tonnes (t) or 1% m-o-m to 488,230 t, according to Mysteel’s monthly survey of the 136 Chinese smelters under its regular tracking.
The sampled smelters host 90% of China’s ferro silicon smelting capacity. The m-o-m dip occurred mainly because September has one day less than August. On a daily basis, ferro silicon output among the sampled smelters registered 16,274 t/day on average last month, growing by 361 t/day or 2.3% from the previous month, the survey results showed.
Many domestic ferro silicon smelters maintained higher production rates last month, as demand remained steady while steel mills were keeping their hot metal output high, Mysteel Global learnt.
For example, Hebei Iron and Steel Group, a major steel producer in North China’s Hebei province, tabled a bidding volume for ferro silicon of 3,151 t for delivery in September, higher by 316 t on the month.
Besides, lower ferro silicon inventories also gave Chinese smelters some confidence to keep their run rates high. Mysteel’s weekly survey showed that as of 25 September, stocks of the ferro alloy among the 60 independent smelters under its tracking touched an 11-month low of 61,460 t, slipping by 1,450 t from the end of August. These smelters represent about 80% of China’s total ferro silicon smelting capacity.
However, domestic ferro silicon prices weakened overall in September under the pressure of robust production. On 30 September, Mysteel assessed prices of 75% ferro silicon at RMB 5,356/t ($751/t), including the 13% VAT, lower by RMB 75/t (11/t) from one month earlier.
Ferro silicon prices in the derivative market also lost ground last month, with the most-traded ferro silicon contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange for delivery in November closing the daytime trading session on 30 September at RMB 5,494/t ($772/t), lower by RMB 72/t ($10/t) from the settlement price on 29 August, according to the exchange’s data.
For this month, China’s ferro silicon production is expected to increase as some smelters in northern China may resume operations after completing the maintenance on their smelting facilities. Meanwhile, two new furnaces are scheduled to be put into operation this month at a smelter in Northwest China’s Gansu, according to Mysteel’s survey.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.
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