FeCr supply to remain excessive in China, curbing price surge in near future

摘要

Chinese HC FeCr (50 Cr; 6-8 C) remained largely stable in the yuan prices in January, whereas its US dollar prices increased by 1.5 to $0.71/lb Cr EXW on average. Imported FeCr is still quoted at $0.65-0.76/lb Cr CIF. Due to February FeCr tenders of Nanjing Iron and Steel (NISCO) and Yuanli Iron and Steel, HC FeCr purchase prices went up by 4 to $0.74-0.77/lb Cr CIF. HC FeCr production will slightly drop in China. China produced some 525,000 tpm of HC FeCr in Q4 (+7 quarter-on-quarter). The production may lose up to 5 in January, Metal Expert estimates. On the one hand, Sichuan Mingda Group, one of China's largest FeCr producers, stopped six furnaces at its plants in mid-December. This will decrease the supply by at least a 12,000-13,000 tpm. On the other hand, chrome ore quotes remained largely stable in January, allowing other ferroalloy plants to keep working with minimal positive margins.