UG2 chrome ore index dips on lower-than-expected Chinese ferro-chrome tenders for February

The price of UG2 chrome ore dropped in the week to Friday February 21 due to lower bids from alloy smelters after China's major stainless steel mills kept their February tender prices flat month on month.

China's Tsingshan Group and Taiyuan Iron and Steel (Tisco) held their ferro-chrome tender prices for February delivery unchanged from January.
The latest tender prices came as a shock to the market as most participants had anticipated an increase in line with the domestic spot price, which had surged in recent weeks due to raw material and transport disruptions caused by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Ferro-chrome smelters, squeezed by the tender prices, made lower bids for the chrome raw material, pushing the index down on Friday. Fastmarkets' South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China fell to $133 per tonne, down by $3 per...

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