Hebei Steel, China's largest steel mill, has kept its purchase price for silico-manganese unchanged at 7,600 yuan ($1,099) per tonne for June delivery, with suppliers trying to maintain higher offers amid rebounding prices in both the spot and futures markets, market sources told Fastmarkets MB.
Hebei Steel, as the majority of market participants had expected, initially bid at 7,500 yuan per tonne earlier this week, 100 yuan per tonne lower than May's purchase price. But the mill received strong resistance from silico-manganese smelters, some of which had offered as high as 7,800 yuan per tonne, market sources said. Higher spot silico-manganese alloys prices as a result of strength in the futures market and tightened supply has given confidence to smelters, who are struggling to maintain breakeven levels, to counter...