While we continue to see improvement in most European and US ferro-alloy markets, Chinese alloy prices are still struggling. The expected revival in steel mill purchasing after the holiday break has yet to occur. Instead, Chinese steel mills are facing declining finished steel product prices and ample raw material inventories. Steel mills are pressing for alloy price reductions in an attempt to preserve margins. We expect stable to lower pricing in Chinese markets to persist until either steelmakers see their prices improve, or alloy producers slash output, reducing supply to the point that steel mills are forced to pay higher prices to secure ferro-alloy supplies.
展开▼
