UG2 chrome ore prices fell by $11 per tonne on Tuesday September - the largest weekly drop since mid-July 2020 - after sellers cut their offers to revive buying interest dented by production cuts in the downstream alloy and stainless steel markets.
Fastmarkets' calculated its chrome ore, South Africa UG2 concentrates index, basis 42%, cif China, down by $11 per tonne (6.3%) at $165 per tonne on Tuesday September 7, from $176 per tonne on August 31.
Buyers in the north continued to focus on consuming current stocks and showed little interest in seaborne material.
And demand from southern smelters also dropped following previous restocking activity and recent production restrictions.
Smelters in Guizhou province were required to suspend production due to electricity shortages, with no notice about how long this will last, sources told Fastmarkets.
This was in addition to suspended ferro-chrome production in Guangxi province, where around 30,000 tonnes per month output is estimated to have been affected.
"Smelters in the south had replenished their feedstock about a month ago and...