The European charge and high-carbon ferro-chrome benchmark is likely to drop for the third quarter, according to market participants spoken to by Metal Bulletin.
The second-quarter settlement was agreed at $1.42 per lb on Thursday March 29, which was only $0.02 per lb higher than Metal Bulletin's benchmark indicator. The second-quarter benchmark had been pushed higher by increased costs in South Africa, said sources. "Increases in the rand mean the rise was entirely justified," a market participant on the sell side said. The South African currency has been buoyed by the election of President Cyril Ramaphosa since he came to power in December. Additionally, supplier costs have been lifted by higher power prices. Electricity makes up 30% of the cost for charge chrome producers so higher prices mean a massive surcharge for producers, he said. Higher costs for suppliers should be reflected in a larger benchmark, another market participant...