US ferro-chrome prices under threat as low offers emerge

US high-carbon ferro-chrome prices were steady on Thursday April 18, but some traders said the market has the potential to be undercut by lower offers from India.

Paragraph entered by Atlantic migration, in order for SteelFirst articles to display correctly on Metal Bulletin.

High-carbon ferro-chrome was unchanged at $1-1.03 per pound, although several traders told Steel First sister publication AMM that material sourced from India was being offered at 98 cents per pound.

“There are one or two people sitting on Indian-grade material and they’re looking to move it, but 98 cents is not reflective of the market,” one trader said. “It’s frustrating to be dictated by those kinds of offers.”

No spot transactions were confirmed below $1 per pound.

Traders told AMM that spot business had not improved in the ferro-chrome market, but that demand hadn’t deteriorated noticeably either.

“It hasn’t gotten any worse and it hasn’t gotten any better,” a second trader said. “One day you’ll have five calls, the next you’ll have none.”

A third trader said that his company had fielded a “few small inquiries”, but added that conditions were akin to “a feeding frenzy” when consumers emerged for spot purchases.

“Ferro-chrome is not falling, it’s just stagnant,” the first trader said. “There’s no drop in demand to result in a fall in pricing, and no increase in supply. The DLA (Strategic Materials) is the only prompt material in this market.”

Glencore and CCMA paid a total of $1.25 million for a combined 1,000 short tons of high-carbon ferro-chrome offered by the DLA in March. The DLA offered another 1,000 tons of high-carbon ferro-chrome on April 16.

What to read next
Steel producers in the United States remain optimistic about construction demand despite its lackluster short-term outlook, according to market participants
The influential annual treatment and refining charge (TC/RC) benchmark that sets the price that smelters charge miners to process their copper concentrate could be at risk, according to multiple market sources, although most believe the system, or elements of it, will remain
Caroline Messecar, strategic markets editor for Fastmarkets, explores the world of rare earth prices in her opinion piece for ‘The Crucible’ titled ‘Why have rare earth prices fallen?’
After a consultation period, Fastmarkets has amended the pricing frequency of its MB-STE-0141 steel billet import, cfr Manila, $/tonne, price assessment from a daily basis to twice per week.
The publication of the following prices was delayed on Tuesday April 30 due to technical issues. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated.
Fastmarkets launches MB-NI-0256 nickel low-carbon briquette premium, cif global, $/tonne, on Wednesday May 1.