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| HOME >> Topics List >> October, 2008 >> 27 (Mon) |
| Prices Of Chinese Ferro-Alloys Have Had Heavy Falls Since Last Week, With Anxiety For Future |
| = Price Of Electrolytic Manganese Metal Has Fallen By US$1,000 / Ton For Last 2 Weeks |
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The prices of Chinese ferro-alloys for exports started to have a heavy fall. China produced 39.60 million tons of crude steel in September of 2008, having decreased by 9.1% compared with that in the same month of 2007, and this decline of the output has suggested a difficulty to expand further steel production in China, Having felt a repugnance to this aspect, an anxiety for raw materials for steel production in the future has multiplied and a surge to fall prices of Chinese ferro-alloys for exports as well as for domestic sales has stormed. It is not clear yet to foresee further falls of prices for Chinese ferro-alloys in the near future but many of the parties concerned have anticipated successive falls of these prices. All of the costs to produce ferro-alloys in China have turned to be unprofitable and this steep fall of prices for Chinese ferro-alloys has caused to freeze an intention to purchase newly ferro-alloys as scheduled by steel mills to take place from November and the inquiries for ferro-alloys to be placed before suppliers are anticipated to be postponed to December. Nickel price has fallen to an extreme extent and price of electrolytic manganese metal, for which the demand has had a considerable decline, has fallen from a level of US$3,000 per metric ton CIF Japan in the week before last to US$2,300 - 2,500 CIF at present. The traders concerned have felt that price of electrolytic manganese metal has fallen by US$1,000 per metric ton in the last 2 weeks. The market price of Chinese silico-manganese has now fallen to a level of US$1,850 - 1,900 per metric ton CIF Japan, having had a substantial fall of US$100 - 150 per ton from that in the week before last. Also, reflecting a heavy fall of price for electrolytic manganese metal as a rival commodity, the market price of medium carbon ferro-manganese has fallen to US$2,100 - 2,200 per metric ton CIF Japan at present. On the basis of manganese content, price of medium carbon ferro-manganese was so far comparatively expensive but has currently levelled off. On the other hand, Chinese suppliers are in a hurry to sell the cargoes of ferro-silicon stocked by them from the middle of October and, consequently, the market price of Chinese ferro-silicon has fallen to a level of US$1,350 per metric ton FOB in last week, which is just the border to be payable for its production cost. This FOB price comes to a level of US$1,400 - 1,450 per metric ton on CIF Japan base. The market price of Chinese ferro-silicon in the week before last was still kept on a level of US$1,700 CIF. This successive fall of prices for Chinese ferro-alloys to be exported has been placed on a similar basic tone to that, having weakened the prices for domestic sales. A decline of crude steel production in China has caused to cancel the existing contracts on supplies of ferro-alloys and the floating cargoes had become a case to rush on exports. Some of exporters sold their stocked cargoes of ferro-alloys at discounted prices for financing. In consequence of these movements, the matter in question for the future is to see an issue of the high duties imposed from 2007 on exports of Chinese ferro-allloys. In order to regulate exports of ferro-alloys from China, the Central Government of China has enforced (1) an abolishment of export tax rebates (all export tax rebates were revoked from January of 2005) and (2) a gradual raise of exports duties (from June of 2005 to January of 2008). However, in line with the policy to sustain the economy in China, the Central Government of China is going from October of this year to amend the treatment for export tax rebates of general commodities, excluding ferro-alloys. Chinese producers of electrolytic manganese metal held on the end of last week a meeting at Shanghai to break through a crisis of this business but it is supposed that this meeting has aimed to revoke the regulations for export of electrolytic manganese metal, which include export duty and cause an increase of cost, rather than to maintain the price of this metal. |
| last modified : Thu 30 Oct, 2008 [10:34] |
