Chinese Ferrosilicon Prices Steady

Mainstream Chinese ferrosilicon 72%min 200-500mm prices are currently at 7,000-7,200 yuan/tonne ($955-993/tonne) ex-works cash, unchanged from yesterday, as most producers are waiting for ferrosilicon tender prices from the major steel mills and are willing to hold prices.

With market supply still tight insiders see prices continuing at current levels in the coming week, a trader in Zhejiang said he sold a truckload of ferrosilicon 72%min 200-500mm to Anhui for 7,300 yuan/tonne ($1,003/tonne), including about 200 yuan/tonne ($28/tonne) for freight. "My offer remained at 7,200 yuan/tonne ($993/tonne) ex-works cash for the past two days. After last weekend's sharp price fluctuations, consumers are rarely counter-offering now. I sold 60 tonnes at that price yesterday as well." The trader revealed, ‘Honestly, the cost of buying this cargo is relatively low, but I won't be lowering prices in the next few days as downstream demand remains strong.’ He expects prices to remain stable over the next week. The trader, who normally trades 500 tonnes a month, plans to sell 400 tonnes in June, almost the same as in May. He holds 100 tonnes in stock. His trading volume for 2023 is about 5,000 tonnes. A trader in Shanxi said he is currently offering 7,200 yuan/mt ($993/mt) for ferrosilicon 72%min 200-500mm and will only accept paybacks of up to 50 yuan/mt ($7/mt). "Today I sold 200 tonnes to a regular customer in Handan at 7,300 yuan/tonne ($1,003/tonne), including about 100 yuan/tonne ($14/tonne) for freight.

I am currently stopping accepting new orders and need to secure supplies to existing customers first,’ the trader said, adding, “I have heard that HISCO's ferrosilicon tender for June will be for 2,200 tonnes, an increase of about 600 tonnes from May, so I will keep my offer unchanged.” He expects prices to remain stable in the coming days Based on a typical monthly trading volume of 2,000 tonnes, the trader plans to sell 2,000 tonnes in June, almost the same as in May. He has no inventory. He trades 20,000 tonnes in 2023.