Some Chinese stainless steel mills are struggling to secure sufficient ferro-chrome supply for January after prices have risen due to unexpected production cuts.
Power constraints and rising raw materials prices have pushed up production costs in south China, triggering production cuts and a rally in ferro-chrome prices. Major Chinese stainless steel mills raised their high carbon ferro-chrome tender prices for January delivery to 7,100-7,300 yuan ($1,102-1,133) per tonne at the end of December. But spot ferro-chrome prices dropped on January 6 and some mills misjudged the market and held out for a steeper decline, only to find the market strengthened instead, sources told Metal Bulletin.By the start of the second week of January, mills had paid 7,600...