- Bids decline at Vedanta-FACOR’s auction
- Market awaits Chinese tender prices for Apr’25
Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices remained largely stable, with a slight drop of INR 500/t ($6/t) as compared to the previous assessment on 19 March. Prices were steady as the majority of market players were in a wait-and-watch mode and were looking for clarity on market trends.
High-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices were INR 100,500/t ($1,171/t) exw-Jajpur, as per BigMint’s assessment on 26 March. Around 850 t of trades were recorded by BigMint last week within the price range of INR 98,500-102,000/t ($1,148-1,189/t) exw.
Prices were unchanged w-o-w for low-silicon high-carbon ferro chrome at INR 105,250/t ($1,227/t) exw-Jajpur, with around 120 t trades concluded within the price range of INR 105,000-105,500/t ($1,224-$1,230/t) exw.
In addition, low-carbon (C:0.1%) ferro chrome prices remained unchanged as well w-o-w at INR 205,000/t ($2,389/t) exw-Durgapur. Around 150 t of trades were concluded in the INR 204,000-206,000/t ($2,378-$2,401/t) exw price bracket.
Market trends (20-26 March)
Limited acceptance of higher offers: A major chunk of ferro chrome demand in India comes from four significant buyers. One primary stainless steel mill has not been scouring for materias recently as it has enough stocks from in-house production. Others were reluctant to go ahead with their bookings as their counter bids were around INR 98,000-99,000/t ($1,142-1,154/t) exw as against higher offers floated by sellers.
Additionally, at the recent Vedanta-FACOR’s ferro chrome auction on 21 March, the larger lot of 10-150 mm was booked at an H1 price of INR 98,700/t ($1,151/t) exw, slightly above the base price of INR 98,500/t ($1,148/t) exw. Bids dropped by INR 1,300/t ($15/t) in comparison to the previous 7 March auction.
Meanwhile, sources reported that the entire material remained unsold at OMC’s ferro chrome auction on 26 March, though this is yet to be verified.
A major seller source informed BigMint, “Currently supplies are higher than demand and with financial year-end approaching, everyone wants to liquidate their stocks. This is keeping prices under pressure.”
China’s market scenario: Ferro chrome (HC60%) prices in China remained unchanged w-o-w at RMB 7,950/t ($1,095/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. The market remained stable, driven by the steady rise in futures and spot prices of chrome ore. As rising chrome ore prices have pushed up production costs, some factories showed readiness to raise their quotations. Market participants were also awaiting the release of tender prices of major mills for April.
Stable stainless steel prices: Prices of 304-grade stainless steel hot-rolled coils (HRCs) reached INR 181,000/t ($2,110/t) exw-Mumbai, unchanged w-o-w. Prices remained steady as most mills focused on the collection of credit payments to avoid any financial strain and close their books for the year.
With the fiscal year-end approaching, limited trades are anticipated in the coming days. On the demand side, there was no significant improvement, and long steel exports slowed down due to weakness in the EU market.
Outlook
Considering current market dynamics, prices are expected to stay rangebound in the days ahead with some minor fluctuations.
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