[Ferro-chrome.com]The spot price ofhigh-carbon lumpy ferrochrome imported into Japan was assessed at 87-90 cents/lb CIF Japan Friday, from 91-93 cents/lb CIF Japan a week ago, with spot deals reported at lower levels.

Trading activity in Japan remained active this week, with Japanese traders saying they received 20-100 mt of inquiries from end-users throughout the week for 10-100 mm lumpy material as well as 3-10 mm powder.

One Japanese steelmaker was heard to have awarded a buy tender Monday to trading companies for over 1,000 mt of high-carbon lumpy ferrochrome for delivery over October to March next year, sources said

 

The tender was awarded at around 87 cents/lb on a CIF Japan and other bases, according to several sources familiar with the deal. The material was 10-50 mm in size, and contains 60-65% chrome, maximum 8% carbon, 3-4% silicon and maximum 0.04% phosphorous, sources said.

OneJapanese trader said he sold 20-100 mt of Indian ferrochrome with similar specifications at 90 cents/lb CIF Japan to end-users. The trader noted that while 200 mt cargoes were trading at around 90 cents/lb CIF Japan, prices could possibly be lower for 1,000 mt cargoes.

The Platts CIF Japan high-carbon ferrochrome price assessment is for cargoes of at least 200 mt.

Indian producers were offering cargoes at 88 cents/lb, 91 cents/lb and 92 cents/lb CIF Japan for lots of at least 200 mt for October loading, Japanese traders said. The offers were for lumps of 10-100 mm in size, with similar chemical specifications to the Japanese steelmaker's tender.

Meanwhile, Japanese steelmakers said their plants were running at high rates after the summer holidays due to demand from the automotive sector. Stainless steel plant runs in Japan are around 80% currently, said one mill source.

But Japanese steelmakers are facing higher raw material purchase costs due to the weak yen, with some asking for off-spec material -- smaller cargoes or those containing higher impurities -- in order to get discounts of 5-10 cents/lb compared with the standard grade, traders said.

One Japanese trader said his Indian suppliers have sold out 3-10 mm sized powder for loading in October.

Separately, South Korean trade and steelmaker sources said that unlike Japan, spot trade was thin this week and prices steady. One source said the most company's most recent purchases were at 86-88 cents/lb CIF for 10-50 mm lumpy material of India-origin, with similar chemical specifications to the Japanese standard.