Fastmarkets proposes to launch a ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-64.9% Cr, max 3% Si, cif Europe, $/lb Cr price assessment that will allow for the inclusion of seaborne high-carbon ferro-chrome excluded from the current assessment because its silicon content is higher than the existing specification.
This material tends to be priced on a cif basis and often comes from India, where producers lack the facilities that Europe has to offer on a delivered basis. This fact is reflected in the incoterm of the new price.
Additionally, Fastmarkets proposes the launch a ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 65-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, $/lb Cr price assessment.
The proposed new price specifications are as follows:
Ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-64.9% Cr, max 3% Si, cif Europe, $/lb Cr
Quality: Lump. Cr 60-64.9%, C 6-8.5%, Si 3% max.
Quantity: Min 24 tonnes
Location: cif major European ports
Unit: USD per lb of chrome contained
Payment terms: 30 days, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Weekly, Tuesday at 2-3pm London time
Ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 65-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, $/lb Cr
Quality: Lump. Cr 65-70%, C 6-8.5%, Si 1.5%.
Quantity: Min 24 tonnes
Location: Delivered consumer works Europe
Unit: USD per lb of chrome contained
Payment terms: 30 days, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Weekly, Tuesday at 2-3pm London time
The two prices above will eventually replace Fastmarkets’ existing European price assessment for high-carbon ferro-chrome.
Most material captured in the existing price assessment falls within the proposed new 65-70% Cr range, therefore, no significant loss of liquidity is anticipated. And additional liquidity will be captured in the 60-64.9% Cr, 3% max Si, price assessment.
Fastmarkets does not propose to add a list of brands in the new prices, as is the case in the existing assessment. Instead, the specifications alone will define which material can be included.
But Fastmarkets is aware of the importance of its existing price assessment in the marketplace and its use in contracts, so to allow the market ample time to adapt to the proposed new structure, the new and existing high-carbon ferro-chrome prices will be assessed concurrently until December 29, 2020, when the older assessment will be discontinued.
The specification of the price to be discontinued is as follows:
MB-FEC-0004 Ferro-chrome high carbon 6-8.5% C, basis 60-70% Cr, max 1.5% Si, delivered Europe, $/lb Cr
Quality: Lump. Cr 60-70%, C 6-8.5%, Si 1.5%.
High-carbon ferro-chrome of the following brands and origins: Kazakhstan (Kazchrome); Russia (Tikhvin, Chelyabinsk); Turkey (Eti Krom); Sweden (Vargon Alloys); Albania (Albchrome)
Quantity: Min 24 tonnes
Location: Delivered consumer works Europe
Unit: USD per lb of chrome contained
Payment terms: 30 days, other payment terms normalized
Publication: Weekly. Tuesday between 2pm and 3pm London time
The new 65-70% Cr price should result in a tighter price range than the existing 60-70% Cr price.
The consultation period for these price launches and discontinuation starts on Friday September 18 and will end on October 16, with the new assessments beginning, subject to market feedback, from October 22 and the original price assessment being discontinued at the end of the year.
Timeline of the proposal
- Proposed launch of new prices: October 22
- Concurrent weekly publication of new and existing prices from October 22 to end of the year
- Discontinuation of existing price: December 29, 2020
- Continuation of two new prices only from January 2021
To provide feedback on the proposed launches and discontinuation, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to Fastmarkets’ chrome pricing, please contact Jon Stibbs by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading ‘FAO: Jon Stibbs, re: high-carbon ferro-chrome launches and discontinuation’.
To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.
