Unsurprisingly, the antidumping case on Russian and Venezuelan ferrosilicon moved forward early last week as the ITC reported that it “determines, pursuant to section 733(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, that there is reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports from Russian and Venezuela of ferrosilicon that are alleged to be sold in the United States at less than fair value.” The next step will bring the case and evidence before the US International Trade Administration, which will perform its review and make recommendations back to the ITC. As equally unsurprising, prices for ferrosilicon inched higher early last week to 97cents to 99 cents per lb, and then up again to 98 cents to 100 cents per lb on the heels of one sale over 100 tons. It was reported that supply is even tighter than expected in the commodity-grade market, with some sources unable to meet additional spot demand. Even further convincing, some inter-trade business was booked at 97cents per lb, indicating near-term expectations in the current price momentum and traders'willingness to take a position on material during the rally. Most participants speculated that heavy consumption on contract, better demand and the current antidumping case are all contributing to the rise in figures.