June 2009 | Ferro-alloys
Monthly price up first time in a year: Ferro-chrome highlights
China's production of stainless steel has risen, but not by the amount needed to use all the ferro-chrome it is importing.
This month has demonstrated the first real signs of an improving market. The monthly average price of ferro-chrome has risen for the first time since May 2008 – a year of monthly declines.
What has been the reason for this improvement in the market? Quite simply: the increased levels of buying from China. China’s imports of ferro-chrome have soared this year, in particular since March. Imports in April (237,000 tonnes) were 34% greater than the previous month. South Africa’s share of the Chinese import market has also swelled considerable each month this year, from 17% in January to 54% in April. This has been at the expense of Kazakhstan, whose market share has shrunk from 50% in January to 24% in April.
Production being brought back onlineStock levels across South Africa are now very low. To counter this, a number of producers are increasing their...
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