- Bhutan maintains strong preference for US market
- Rise in China’s domestic, ZCE futures prices
Indian ferro silicon (70%) prices experienced a w-o-w increase of INR 3,800/t ($46/t) as compared to the previous assessment on 29 April. Prices increased as demand saw an uptick, particularly in the global markets, which contributed to domestic price increases as well.
Ferro silicon prices in India were at INR 102,000/t ($1,222/t) exw-Guwahati on 6 May, according to BigMint’s assessment. In Bhutan, prices reached INR 101,500/t ($1,216/t) exw, a w-o-w increase of INR 2,300/t ($28/t). Last week, around 800 t of deals were closed in both regions within the price bracket of INR 101,000-102,500/t ($1,210-1,228/t).
Factors contributing to price rise
Bhutan’s pricing update, export market strength: Usually, Bhutan releases new rates each month which Indian producers follow. Prices were set at INR 98,000/t ($1,174/t) for this month as well. However, Indian sellers were not able to hold these prices in the market for very long.
A portion of Bhutan’s producers was primarily serving the export market, with the US and Europe being their main destinations. According to sources, exports from Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Russia were on hold while the US conducted countervailing duty and anti-dumping investigations. As a result, there was less material available in the spot market, which raised prices. “Anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations in the US gave us an advantage to divert from the Indian market,” a Bhutanese producer told BigMint.
Apart from this, a notable surge was observed in the manganese alloys prices in the previous week. This may also have contributed to the increase in offers.
Rise in China’s prices: Ferro silicon (Si:75%) prices in China stood at RMB 7,150/t ($1,009/t) exw-Inner Mongolia on 6 May. There were reports of production cuts and with higher semi-coke prices, prices of ferro silicon in China increased.
In addition, ferro silicon futures on China’s Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) for September 2024 delivery contract saw a w-o-w increase of RMB 162/t ($23/t) to RMB 7,040/t ($994/t) on 6 May.
Outlook
Considering the current market conditions, BigMint estimates that prices may rise moderately in the days ahead. Although a sharp hike is less likely.