[Ferro-Alloys.com]In the mid-September, mainstream HC ferrochrome quotation from Chinese producers remains at RMB6,200-6,450/mt, which equals the price in the prior week. Burden FeCr from South Africa was quoted at RMB6,400-6,500/T, FeCr from India at RMB6,500-6,600/T, and FeCr from Kazakhstan at RMB7,600-7,700/T. Futures price for FeCr from South Africa,  India and Kazakhstan was USD0.8-0.83/lb, USD0.82-0.83/lb and USD0.93-0.94/lb respectively. 

 

The supply of FeCr for the long-term contract kept stable, however, there is little trading volume in the bulk FeCr market due to the weak demand in Chinese chrome market. The volume of China’s imported FeCr from India stayed at a low level in August and September due to the low production rate caused by the tight supply of chrome ore in India. Due to the stagnation of steel industry, most of the FeCr producers hold negative attitudes in the production, which makes it more difficult for the price to rise in short period. The overall production rate remains low in Southern China as the quotation from steel mills keeps falling, and it could be even lower with the end of rain season in the area. There is still upward pressure for the FeCr price in Southern China because of the large volume of imported FeCr. In the first seven months this year, China’s total volume of imported FeCr is 1,260,000 tonnes, up 37% over the same period last year, among which 830,000 tonnes are imported from South Africa, up 74% over the same period last year.

 

The price remained the same as last week in US and EU market. In the EU market, HC FeCr (C6-8%,Cr 60-65%) was quoted at USD1.04-1.12/lb Cr, LC FeCr (C0.1, Cr60-70%) at USD2.08-2.15/lb Cr. In the US market, HC FeCr （C6-8%,Cr60-65%）was mainly quoted at USD1.15-1.18/lb Cr Ex Pittsburgh , MC FeCr （C0.05，Cr65%min）at USD2.25-2.28/lb Cr, LC FeCr C0.1,Cr62%min）mainly at USD2.08-2.12/lb Cr FOB Pittsburgh.

 

Price for LC FeCr remained stable compared to last week,and it sold well in the market. Bao Steel and Tai Steel has raised their tender prices for LC & MC ferrochrom recently, which brought support to the FeCr market. Currently, price for LC FeCr (C0.25%) is mainly quoted at RMB11,700-11,900/60mt, MC FeCr (C0.1%) mainly at RMB12,000-12,200/mt, MC FeCr (C0.06%) mainly at RMB12,200-12,400/60mt ex work. Price of material silicon chromium kept steady with Gansu and Inner Mongolia quotation at RMB7,700-7,800/T, and quotation from Sichuan was RMB7,600-7,700/T (Cash).

 

Chrome metal price in China and EU kept stable this week with a flat market and volume. Currently, mainstream price for chrome metal is quoted at RMB58,000-61,000/T in Jinzhou. In Henan and Hunan, it is quoted at RMB54,000-55,000/T. And it is quoted at USD9,300-9625/T in EU market. Domestic supply is not sufficient for a large chrome metal producer in Jinzhou, because of  its unstable output and huge export volume. The price would keep stable in a short time, because there is still upward pressure for the price due to weak demand.

 

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