China’s manganese alloy market remains stable, ferrosilicon prices decline

In the past week China's manganese alloy market has remained stable. The purchase prices from domestic steel mills for March have been set in line with current mainstream market prices. On the other hand, the domestic ferrosilicon market has continued to follow a soft trend, with prices down slightly again.

Mills' inventories at high levels in China's manganese alloy market

Currently, Chinese domestic market quotations of FeMn65Si17 are at RMB 8,300-8,450/mt ($1,263-1,286/mt), with quotations in southwestern China standing at RMB 8,000-8,200/mt ($1,218-1,248/mt), unchanged week on week. At the same time, the mainstream price of FeMn65 stands at around RMB 7,800-8,000/mt ($1,185-1,216/mt), also unchanged week on week. Meanwhile, export offers of FeMn65Si17 are at $1,460/mt FOB, likewise indicating no change from the previous week.

For the time being, the purchase price of silicon manganese from domestic steel mills in southern China is standing at approximately RMB 8,400/mt ($1,279/mt), while their purchase price for high carbon FeMn (75 percent) is at RMB 9,050/mt ($1,377/mt). In addition, the purchase price of silicon manganese from domestic mills in northern China is standing at RMB 8,600/mt ($1,309/mt). The current purchase price from domestic mills is in line with market prices. Meanwhile, inventories of manganese alloys held by the mills are abundant and thus the mills are unlikely to raise their purchase prices and thereby boost the market price levels. In addition, domestic manganese alloy manufacturers are also keeping a close eye on the market and will likely increase their operating rates if market prices continue to maintain a stable in the coming period.

Over the past week, the domestic manganese ore market has also remained stable. Current offers of ex-Australia manganese ore (Mn 44) are standing at RMB 52/mtu, with boron-added manganese ore (Mn46) at RMB 51/mtu. The Chinese manganese ore market may face downward pressure in the near future as current inventories of manganese ore held by domestic ports have continued to increase.

Mills' purchase volumes of ferrosilicon still on the low side

Current ex-works prices of ferrosilicon (75 percent) in China stand at RMB 6,700-6,900/mt ($1,020-1,050/mt), down another RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) week on week. In addition, export offers of ferrosilicon (75 percent) from China have remained at $1,500/mt FOB.

China's ferrosilicon market has continued to follow a soft trend in the past week, with prices down slightly. A strong wait-and-see atmosphere prevails in the domestic market. Looking at the current situation, offers from large-scale domestic ferrosilicon manufacturers have remained unchanged from the previous week, while transaction prices have declined in the domestic ferrosilicon market. SteelOrbis has also learned that offers of ferrosilicon (75 percent) from small-scale domestic manufacturers have declined to RMB 6,600/mt ($1,005/mt) in general. In addition, the purchase volumes of ferrosilicon from domestic steel mills have remained on the low side. Most mills' purchase prices of ferrosilicon for March have remained unchanged or have even declined compared to prices for February. For instance, Wuhan Iron and Steel's ferrosilicon (72 percent) purchase price for March has declined to RMB 7,480/mt ($1,139/mt), down RMB 200/mt ($30/mt) compared to the previous week. The domestic ferrosilicon market is likely to maintain its soft trend in the coming period.