Europe: Prices steady on thin spot trade

摘要

Prices for European bulk alloys held stable on sluggish trad- ing in the spot market towards the end of the month. But market participants are expecting a potential tightness in ferro-silicon supply that could support the market in the short term. Prices for high carbon ferro-chrome held steady after rising on 22 October to $0.86-0.92/lb delivered duty paid on 27 October. One truckload of 65pc Cr material was sold at 86c/ lb. Demand for ferro-chrome in Europe from stainless steel sector remains low. One stainless steel producer said their offtake volumes from long-term contracts were nearly half of the total procured volumes, reflecting downstream con- sumer demand weakness.