Demand also remains strong in Europe, with end user first-quarter tenders for over 3,000t and suppliers struggling to respond.

On Thursday, Fastmarkets approached the company for comment, but Ferroglobe officials had not confirmed the furnace restart at the time of writing.

Production output for the quarter ended 30 September 2021 of 33,453 tonnes of ferrosilicon (“FeSi”), 59,307 tonnes of manganese alloys (silicomanganese (“SiMn”)) and 34,542 tonnes of manganese sinter ore.

US ferro-silicon (75pc) prices increased to $2.60-2.80/lb from $2.20-2.30/lb on 30 September.

[Ferro-Alloys.com]Silicon, a major material used in photovoltaic cells, modules and wafers, has seen prices surge by about 150 percent since the beginning of this year to an average of over 200,000 yuan ($31,100) per metric ton last week, buoyed by growing dem...

Ferroglobe had not confirmed the closure to Argus at the time of writing and was not immediately available for comment.

China's August output reached 233,300t, up by 7.56pc from July, according to data from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.

The tone of steel bidding in September was established last Friday with the bidding price of HBIS Group at 10700 yuan per ton.