FOCUS: What is behind the recent significant price gains in China's SiMn market?

Both spot and futures silico-manganese prices in China have risen significantly over the past month, helped by comparatively limited availability of spot cargoes at Chinese smelters' warehouses and steady demand from steel mills, market sources told Fastmarkets.

Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment of silico-manganese 65% Mn min, max 17% Si, in-whs China was 6,100-6,200 yuan ($932-947) per tonne on Friday December 18, up by 350-400 yuan per tonne (6.5%) from 5,750-5,800 yuan per tonne on November 20.
At the same time, the most-traded May silico-manganese contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange hit a seven-month high at 7,088 yuan per tonne during trading on December 21 before closing at 6,944 yuan per tonne that day. This is up from a closing price of 6,120 yuan per tonne on November 20.
The contract closed at 6,726 yuan per tonne on December 22.
Fastmarkets summarizes several factors that may have contributed to the recent gains in China's silico-manganese market.
Limited availability of spot cargoes at smelter warehouses

Relatively limited availability of silico-manganese at domestic smelters' warehouses implies less sales pressure for...

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