UG2 chrome ore market sentiment buoyed by South Africa's export tax proposal

South Africa's proposal to impose an export tax on UG2 chrome ore has revived sentiment and halted a slump in prices, while ferro-chrome markets held steady ahead of the release of November tenders, sources said on this week.

News of the proposed export tax saw Fastmarkets' chrome ore South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China, settle at $136 per tonne on Tuesday, up by $1 per tonne from $135 per tonne in the preceding week when the price fell by $4 per tonne, or 2.9%.
"We had expected further price fall [before] the news [of the chrome ore export tax]," a buyer source said. "It is hard to [judge how] the market [might] be supported, but at least the bearishness has been offset."
However, liquidity was light, with some market participants preferring to stay away from the market in anticipation of higher prices in the future.

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