Ferroalloy market price insights November 2023

In November, multidirectional price trends prevailed in the European ferroalloys market. In the noble ferroalloys segment, high price volatility was caused by volatile market conditions in Asia and speculation by trading companies in Europe. Nevertheless, during the month, quotations generally moved in a downward trend. In the manganese and silicon alloys market, suppliers made desperate efforts to hold or even increase prices despite the seasonal lack of demand.

The consumption industry is not supporting the ferroalloys market in Europe either. According to Worldsteel, in October, the EU countries became almost the only region of the world where steel production did not grow at least slightly in a year-on-year comparison, but on the contrary, it noticeably decreased. Hence, steel output in the region fell by 7.1% to 10.6 million tonnes, while the total decline since the beginning of the year was almost 9%.

Metis estimates that with announced furnace shutdowns at steel mills across Europe in the coming months, demand for ferroalloys will remain extremely subdued. At the same time, production costs are likely to rise, at least due to seasonal increases in energy costs.

Manganese and Silicon

• Ferrosilicon sellers have been trying to implement price increases in November, but in the absence of stable demand, have so far mostly succeeded in only raising offer prices
• Trading activity in the European manganese alloys market remains subdued due to seasonal weak demand. Having, as it is reported, stocks of products in European ports, foreign suppliers are forced to make concessions
• Europe’s largest manganese ferroalloys producer, Nikopol Ferroalloys Plant (Ukraine), stopped production on November 1 due to rising electricity prices and low prices for ferroalloys in the key sales markets. The timing of the plant’s downtime has not been officially announced
• The strengthening of China’s yuan against the US dollar has prompted Chinese manganese metal suppliers to adjust their export offerings by late November

Noble and Chromium alloys

• Despite a lack of fundamental changes, European traders persist in seizing every opportunity to raise FeMo offers. The recent uptick in market activity, coupled with elevated feedstock prices in Asia, has prompted regional suppliers to test the waters
• The demand for ferrovanadium (FeV) in Europe continues to fall short of expectations
• European ferrotitanium (FeTi) suppliers have continued to find themselves in a challenging position, navigating between high production costs and aggressive offers for Russian material
• The European Commission has ultimately announced the initiation of an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of titanium dioxide, containing a minimum of 80% by weight of titanium dioxide calculated on the dry matter from China
• The European LC FeCr suppliers have remained compelled to maintain a high degree of flexibility amidst persistently subdued demand
• Trading activity within the European HC FeCr market has remained subdued, primarily influenced by sluggish demand in downstream industries
• TISCO cuts HC FeCr price for December
• Zimbabwe Mining and Smelting Company (ZIMASCO), the country’s largest ferrochrome producer, has decided to temporarily halt operations at four of its six furnaces in response to the complexity of the current business environment

The Metalshub Intelligence service – Metis gives you access to regular market prices, real transactions-based price indices, and daily relevant market news and insights on different ferroalloys.

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