Ferro-chrome prices are likely to be supported in the near to medium term by concerns over South Africa's power constraints, market sources believe.
South Africa's state-owned power utility Eskom implemented load shedding - controlled power outages that aim to reduce strain on the country's system - in February.The resulting blackouts had minimal impact on prices but did affect ferro-chrome production and producers raised offer prices after losing power at short notice."When there is load shedding, you have Eskom cutting your power by 20% in a day. When you start moving your schedule around it throws out your costs and production levels," a ferro-chrome producer told Fastmarkets. Eskom said there was an increased chance of load shedding on March 1, but then scaled back its warning to low risk on March 4. Further blackouts could have a more significant effect on prices, particularly if they are long term and hit...