India: Ferro chrome prices stable; may drop post-lower bids in FACOR auction

• FACOR's ferro chrome auction concludes at INR 106,200/t
  
  
• China's domestic prices inch up on higher raw material costs
  
  

Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices remained stable earlier this week with a slight drop of INR 200/tonne ($2/t) as compared to the previous assessment on 1 May. Prices remained stable as no major movement was observed in the domestic market.

As per BigMint's assessment on 8 May, Indian high-carbon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:4%) prices stood at INR 107,700/t ($1,290/t) exw-Jajpur. Approximately 750 t of trades were concluded in the previous week within the price range of INR 107,500-109,000/t ($1,287-1,305/t). However, market sentiments have weakened post-FACOR's auction concluded yesterday.

High-carbon low-silicon ferro chrome (HC60%, Si:2%) prices too remained stable at INR 114,200/t ($1,368/t) exw-Jajpur on 9 May, with a nominal drop of INR 100/t ($1/t) w-o-w. Furthermore, low-carbon (C:0.1%) ferro chrome prices were constant w-o-w at INR 239,500/t ($2,868/t) exw-Durgapur.

Weekly market report

Domestic market overview, FACOR's auction analysis: As seen from the trades that were completed in the previous week, the market was hovering in the range of INR 107,500-109,000/t ($1,287-1,305/t). Additionally, the ferro chrome auction held by Vedanta-FACOR yesterday brought in an H1 price of INR 106,200/t ($1,272/t) exw. With a minor decline of INR 200/t ($2/t), prices were mostly unchanged from the previous auction on 24 April. So in the coming few days, a clearer picture will emerge if there's any revision in market offers. There is also a possibility of prices dropping post-FACOR's auctions.

China's prices inch up: Ferro chrome (HC60%) prices in China inched up by RMB 100/t ($14/t) w-o-w to RMB 9,050/t ($1,253/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. Post-Tsingshan's tender announcement for this month which was stable m-o-m, reduction of prices got limited to a certain extent. The rising cost of necessary raw materials like coke and chrome ore may have caused prices to rise.

"I heard stainless steel production is going to increase by 2% m-o-m in China," an Indian producer, who mostly serves the export market, told BigMint. Thus, this month may witness a rise in demand for ferro chrome.

Reduced demand in domestic stainless steel sector: The price of 304 grade stainless steel in India was INR 175,000/t ($2,096/t) exw-Mumbai, showing a little decrease of INR 1,000/t ($12/t) w-o-w. This decline was due to a minor decrease in LME nickel prices. There is still less demand surrounding the market, and corrections are anticipated in this industry in the coming days.

Outlook

The market appears to be volatile at the moment, but over the next few days, more clarity will emerge. Given the circumstances, correction in the pricing may emerge.