Taiyuan Iron & Steel (Tisco) has raised its ferro-chrome tender price for October above that of Tsingshan Group in a rare move, signaling differing procurement strategies and feedstock needs for the remainder of 2019.
Tisco took the lead on Friday September 20 by announcing a monthly tender price for high-carbon ferro-chrome at 6,500 yuan ($911) per tonne on a duty-paid basis including delivery for the entire fourth quarter. The latest tender price is 400 yuan per tonne higher than in September. Tsingshan followed by releasing its October tender for ferro-chrome on Thursday September 26 at 6,396 yuan per tonne, up only 100 yuan per tonne from its September bid price. Chinese ferro-chrome smelters had hoped the southern Chinese mill would increase its tender price by a similar level to Tisco. But the latest divergence in tender prices...