S&P Global Platts assessed the Chinese 75% Si ferrosilicon price at $1,430-$1,480/mt FOB China Thursday, down from $1,550-$1,600/mt last week as offers continued to lower on slow demand.
Producer and trader offers were heard Thursday at $1,500-$1,600/mt FOB, down from $1,600-$1,700/mt last week.
A producer reported selling earlier this week around 400 mt at $1,460/mt CIF Taiwan, November loading, and put general tradable prices at $1,450-$1,500/mt FOB currently.
A trader said he received an offer at $1,430/mt FOB Tianjin but did not buy as he expected prices to break below $1,400/mt in the near term. He put current prices at $1,430-$1,480/mt.
"Everyone is waiting for lower prices, there are no trades and no bids, and offers have all come down," a Beijing-based trader said.
"Prices are all over the place now, depending on individual positions.
The more we lower offers, the less buying interest, as they will all expect further falls," a Qinghai trader added.
In the near term, prices are likely to continue testing lower with some expectation that the levels will stabilize around $1,300-$1,400/mt.
"Prices went up too fast earlier and now it's correcting ... no one wants to see sharp price spikes or falls, everyone wants stability," a South China trader said.
Ferrosilicon was assessed at $1,480-$1,540/mt CIF Japan Thursday, down from $1580-$1,620/mt CIF Japan a week ago. There was no trade reported as Japanese buyers waited for lower prices.
Offers were in a wide range of $1,500-1,700/mt CIF Japan for November loading. The $1,500/mt CIF Japan offer was for maximum 1% aluminum material which is traded $10-$30/mt higher than the standard grade.
The highest offer of $1,650-$1,700/mt CIF Japan was from a northeastern Chinese producer, while other Chinese producers offered $1,550-$1,600/mt CIF Japan. Chinese traders appeared to be the most aggressive.
There was no offer from Russian and Malaysian producers, buyers said.
