Global ferroalloy prices slightly declined in late March

Spot ferrosilicon (Si 75%) prices on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) in China fell by $5/t to $830/t from March 17 to 24, according to BigMint. OTC offers from producers remained stable at $860/t EXW Mongolia.

Information about plans by steel plants in northern provinces to increase steel production in Q2 did not affect the market, as buyers focused on controlling their consumption and were cautious in their purchases.

According to the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA), the average daily steel production by large and medium-sized plants from March 11 to 20 increased by 1.6% compared to the previous ten-day period, to 2.166 million tons. From March 1 to 10, the average daily figure decreased by 5.6% compared to the previous ten-day period, to 2.132 million tons.

From March 10 to 20, 2025, finished product inventories in warehouses of large and medium-sized metallurgical plants increased by 4.1%, to 16.91 million tons. Thus, they currently have no prerequisites for increasing the purchase of ferroalloys.

Domestic prices for ferrosilicon (Si 70%) in India from March 17 to 24 decreased by $3/t, to $1152/t EXW Guwahati. In Bhutan, prices remained unchanged at $1,157/t EXW. Some steel mills have already booked purchases a month in advance. Export offers from India remained unchanged at $1,200/t FOB Calcutta. Foreign enquiries were limited, as buyers preferred cheaper supplies from Malaysia and Russia.

Indian steel production has been showing rapid growth at the beginning of the year. In January, smelting increased by 6.8% y/y, to 13.6 million t, and in February by 6.3%, to 12.7 million t. The dynamics are due to high domestic demand for steel. According to Ranjan Dhar, vice president of sales and marketing at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, if the country implements protective measures and demand growth continues at the level of 7-8%, the need for hot-rolled steel exports in 2025 will be limited.

However, growing steel demand does not allow manufacturers to increase prices for their products due to the availability of cheap import offers. Steel prices in India are currently at 4-year lows, according to Sehul Bhatt, research director at Crisil Intelligence. In turn, this is holding back the growth of domestic ferroalloy prices.

European ferroalloy quotes at the end of the third week of March remained unchanged compared to the middle of the month. Traders offered ferrosilicon (Si 75%) at €1,375-1,425/t DDP, ferromanganese at €1,400-1,450/t DDP, silicomanganese at €1,090-1,120/t DDP.

As reported, Ukrainian ferroalloy enterprises increased exports by 30.1% m/m to 10.84 thousand tons in February 2025. This is the highest figure since August 2024. In February 2024, exports amounted to only 0.3 thousand tons due to the long-term downtime of key enterprises.