European ferro-silicon market eyes further price gains

The European ferro-silicon spot price has jumped by 13% so far in February amid firm fundamentals, and with reduced stock levels in Europe - where production levels have fallen after domestic cuts in recent months - and little available for spot sales, prices may be set to climb even further in the near term.

Fastmarkets' price assessment for ferro-silicon lumpy basis 75% Si (scale pro rata), delivered Europe rose to ?,?1,180-1,250 ($1,280-1,356) per tonne on Friday February 21, up by 13% at the midpoint compared with ?,?1,050-1,100 per tonne on January 31.
Traders appear to have more material available for prompt demand, hence a wider-than-usual gap in spot prices, with traders offering ferro-silicon sometimes well below producer offer prices. Some European producers are offering ferro-silicon against prompt demand as high as ?,?1,300 per tonne delivered, although no firm deals have been done at that level.

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