China’s manganese alloy market starts to follow stable trend

China's common alloys market has tended towards stability in the past week, especially as regards manganese alloys. China's manganese alloy market has seen reduced outputs and has started to face tightness of supply, while domestic steel mills are currently in no hurry to purchase. On the other hand, in China's ferrosilicon market, the purchase prices of steel mills are at low levels, though demand has seen some improvement.

In the past week, market prices of manganese alloys in China have moved on a stable trend. Currently, Chinese domestic market quotations of FeMn65Si17 are at RMB 8,100-8,200/mt ($1,224-1,232/mt), with quotations in southwestern China standing at RMB 7,800-8,000/mt ($1,178-1,208/mt), unchanged week on week. At the same time, the mainstream price of FeMn65 stands at around RMB 7,800-7,900/mt ($1,178-1,193/mt), also unchanged week on week. Meanwhile, export offers of FeMn65Si17 are at $1,450/mt FOB, likewise unchanged week on week.

China's manganese alloy market has remained unchanged over the past week. Manganese alloy manufacturers have incurred losses and have had to limit or suspend production; thus, the domestic manganese alloy market has seen a decline in production and has started to face a situation of tight supply. Looking at the current situation, the purchase prices of manganese alloy from domestic steel mills are at low levels, with purchase prices of silicon manganese at RMB 8,200/mt ($1,232/mt) in northern China and at RMB 8,000-8,100/mt ($1,208-1,224/mt) in southern China, lower than the current domestic mainstream offers. Meanwhile, domestic steel mills are in no hurry to purchase owing to sufficient inventories. China's manganese alloy market will not gain clarity until domestic steel mills issue their purchase plans for February.

Current ex-works prices of ferrosilicon (75 percent) in China stand at RMB 7,000-7,100/mt ($1,057-1,073/mt), down RMB 100-200/mt ($15-30/mt) week on week. In addition, export offers of ferrosilicon (75 percent) from China have declined to $1,510/mt FOB, with the transaction volume on the weak side.

In the past week, domestic ferrosillicon market has seen improved demand from steel mills. Recently, most domestic steel mills have entered the market for purchases, though their purchase prices standing at RMB 7,200-7,300/mt ($1,088-1,103/mt) are lower than mainstream offers. Looking at the current situation, the domestic ferrosilicon market has become more stable and is unlikely to slide down in the coming period.