Silico Manganese market remained subdued this week amid sluggish demand. Suppliers kept the prices unchanged from last week.

Silico Manganese prices remain unchanged in the domestic market with market participants reporting a lack of trade. Currently prices of Silico Manganese are hovering around INR 52500-53000 /MT (Ex-Raipur), INR 55,500 / MT (Ex-Vizag) and INR 54000 /MT (Ex-Durgapur). Prakash Industries is currently offering at INR 51,500 /MT (Ex-Champa, Chhattisgarh). Traders were also reluctant to buy despite seemingly low prices for Silico Manganese. “Nobody wants to buy now and be stuck with it, while the demand keeps tanking,” mentioned a trader based in Raipur.

TATA’s branded Silico Manganese 60-15 Silicomag is currently not being offered in the market but Silico Manganese 50-12 is being offered at INR 43,000 /MT FOR West Bengal.

Export Market

Overseas demand for Silico Manganese is also really low and the decline in price is steeper and faster than expected. “Demand for Silico Manganese is declining on all fronts, both foreign and domestic,” said a producer source in Durgapur. Silico Manganese 60-14 is currently being offered at USD 870-880 /MT FOB East-coast India and Silico Manganese 65-16 is being offered at USD 990-1000 /MT FOB East-coast India. Despite the offer levels falling, they were still not welcomed by buy-side participants.

Market watchers see the domestic spot price lingering around the current range in the near-term. The price of Silico Manganese in India is unlikely to rise in the near future – despite some reports of buying interest from mills that are low on inventory, as most Indian producers of Silico Manganese reported of poor overseas demand and seemed gloomy over the current market situation. SteelMint assessed that some Silico Manganese producers have opted to cut production levels in sight of poor demand from steel mills.

Exchange Rate:  USD 1 = INR 62.55