The European ferro-silicon spot market, which in March has been consolidating earlier strong gains, is set to push up in the next few weeks with early signs that second-quarter prices will increase. Ferro-silicon suppliers have already proposed bid prices around ?l,300/tonne to steel mills, and there has been a general acceptance from consumers that an increase up to that level will be agreed in the coming weeks. European ferro-silicon stocks are only moderate and there have been few imports from Russia, with most imported material coming from India. We expect US ferro-silicon prices to edgeup with a buoyant ferro-alloys market in general as manganese alloy production cuts in Europe, Africa and Asia have prompted short covering in the West. Chinese stocks of ferro-silicon are at a plentiful level as steel production has been operating at a reduced rate recently amid slow demand. Regardless, however, Chinese ferro-silicon prices have edged up as production costs are rising in China in line with power prices. The Chinese ferro-silicon market is expected to be stronger in April in line with demand in the steel sector, which typically gets busier in the second quarter.
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