Overall increase continues in Chinese common alloys market

Over the past week the Chinese domestic common alloys market has continued its rising trend. A price hike has been observed in the manganese alloys market, mainly because mills have raised their purchase prices, but also owing to the increased price of manganese and due to the tight supplies of manganese alloys in southwestern China. Meanwhile, a price increase has been seen in the domestic ferrosilicon market due to increases in both market demand and production costs.

In the past week, the prices of manganese alloys have continued their upward trend in China's domestic market. Market quotations of FeMn65Si17 have been at RMB 8,250-8,450/mt ($1,210-1,239/mt) in the south of China, marking an increase of RMB 50-150/mt ($7-22/mt) week on week; at the same time, the mainstream price of FeMn65 in the south has increased by RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) week on week to RMB 8,200-8,400/mt ($1,202-1,232/mt), while export offers of FeMn65Si17 have increased slightly to $1,480-1,520/mt FOB.

In recent days, since mills in the various regions have raised their purchase prices for April, a price increase has been observed in the overall domestic manganese alloys market. Purchase prices from most mills in the south and north are in the range of RMB 8,400-8,500/mt ($1,202-1,246/mt) in general, while some mills have even raised their purchase prices to RMB 8,600/mt ($1,261/mt), up RMB 200/mt ($29/mt) compared with the previous month. The price gap between the northern mills and southern mills has been narrowing, mainly due to the tightness of supplies of manganese alloys in the south and owing to the similarity between manganese ore prices in the two regions. Looking at the current market situation, thanks to the continuous price increase of manganese ore imports and increased market demand, a slight price increase is expected to occur in the domestic manganese alloys market.

Over the past week the ex-factory price of ferrosilicon (75 percent) has been at RMB 6,150-6,250/mt ($902-916/mt) in northwestern China, up RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) compared with the previous week. In addition, export quotations of domestic ferrosilicon (75 percent) have increased to $1,300-1350/mt FOB.

During the week in question, China's ferrosilicon market has witnessed general confusion regarding market prices, mainly due to tight supplies of spot materials and increased electricity charges. Currently, some mills have raised their purchase price for ferrosilicon (72 percent) for April to RMB 6,500-6,600/mt ($958-968/mt). Meanwhile, although export quotations of ferrosilicon have increased to $1,300-1,350/mt, followed by increased inquiries from foreign buyers, most companies are more interested in the domestic market.