The Chinese manganese alloys market continued to indicate a positive trend over the past week. However, due to the climbing prices of manganese ore, manganese alloy producers find themselves facing growing production costs and narrower profit margins. Meanwhile, the domestic ferrosilicon market has retained its softness, with the purchase prices of Chinese mills remaining at low levels.
Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Silicon manganese | FeMn65Si17 | Guangxi | 6,600 | 100 | 966 | 15 |
Ferrosilicon | FeSi75 | Gansu | 5,200 | - | 761 | - |
As regards manganese alloys, prices of silicon manganese registered a minor climb during the past week, with the mills' profit margins observed to be on the slim side. At present, market quotations of silicon manganese FeMn65Si17 are up by RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) to the range of RMB 6,400-6,700/mt ($937-981/mt); meanwhile, mainstream prices of high carbon ferromanganese FeMn65 have remained constant at RMB 6,000-6,300/mt ($878-922/mt).
Due to the brisk demand for silicon manganese, domestic producers in various regions raised their quotations accordingly. However, with the prices of imported manganese ore continuing their rising movement, the profit margin for domestic silicon manganese producers is quite limited. Meanwhile, some Chinese mills have begun to hike their purchase prices, while also increasing their purchase volumes. In addition, prices of imported manganese ore have reached relatively high levels, and manganese alloy producers may not be able to afford imported ore if the prices continue to go up.
With regard to ferrosilicon, the domestic market fluctuated at low levels over the past week, with a general stability observed in market quotations. The ex-factory prices of ferrosilicon (75 percent) in the northwestern regions are unchanged in the range of RMB 5,150-5,200/mt ($754-761/mt), while domestic ferrosilicon is still offered at around $1,050-1,100/mt FOB for the export market.
Despite the increased inquiries from the downstream side, deal prices of ferrosilicon still remained at low levels over the past week. Most ferrosilicon producers are currently producing just in order to make ends meet. Experiencing significant cost pressure, many ferrosilicon producers intend to switch to production of other products.