China's manganese alloy market has remained stable in the past week though with some weakness, against a background of sluggish market activity. On the other hand, China's domestic ferrosilicon market has continued to show a downward trend due to low demand and the recovery of market supplies.
Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Silicon manganese | FeMn65Si17 | Guangxi | 8,500 | - | 1,274 | - |
Ferrosilicon | FeSi75 | Gansu | 8,400 | -150 | 1,259 | -22 |
In the past week, market prices of manganese alloys in China have remained stable, though characterized by some weakness. Currently, Chinese domestic market quotations of FeMn65Si17 are at RMB 8,400-8,700/mt ($1,259-1,304/mt), almost unchanged week on week, with quotations in southwestern China standing at RMB 8,300-8,500/mt ($1,244-1,274/mt), unchanged week on week. At the same time, the mainstream price of FeMn65 stands at around RMB 8,200-8,400/mt ($1,229-1,259/mt), down RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) week on week. Meanwhile, export offers of FeMn65Si17 are at $1,500-1,530/mt FOB, slightly down week on week.
The profit margin for China's manganese alloy manufacturers has been decreasing. Although December is almost here, the purchase activities of steel mills are still at low levels. In line with the production restrictions on steel mills nationwide since September, demand for manganese alloys from steel mills has declined. Currently, domestic steel mills' purchase prices are in the range of RMB 8,500-8,700/mt ($1,274-1,304/mt).
During the past week Chinese ferrosilicon prices have continued to slide down. Current ex-works prices of ferrosilicon (75 percent) in China stand at RMB 8,300-8,500/mt ($1,244-1,274/mt), down RMB 150/mt ($22/mt) week on week. In addition, export offers of ferrosilicon (75 percent) from China have declined slightly week on week to $1,700-1,750/mt FOB.
Looking at the current situation, after the price decreases already seen for ferrosilicon, most buyers expect a further decline in the market but are now waiting for prices to hit bottom before they reenter the market. In addition, supply volumes are expected to increase later as ferrosilicon manufacturers gradually start to resume production. Currently, the purchase prices of ferrosilicon (72 percent) from domestic steel mills are at RMB 8,500-8,600/mt ($1,274-1,289/mt). In addition few export transactions for ferrosilicon have been seen recently.