Sino-Global Information: Silicon Manganese costs remain high, downstream demand is weak

In the recent period, the silicon manganese market has seen only narrow price fluctuations. As of March 18, the mainstream price for 6517 silicon manganese is 5800-5900 yuan/ton, flat month-on-month and down 3.31% year-on-year. Since entering the peak season, the overall trend has been stable with a slight upward bias, but market bullish and bearish sentiment remains clearly divided. On the cost side, it has become the core support factor: import manganese ore quotations have stayed at a persistently high level, and in addition, power costs in the main producing regions have remained stubbornly high, which has strengthened sellers’ price-support sentiment. On the supply side, production in the northern regions including Inner Mongolia and Ningxia has been steady; newly added capacity is gradually being released, so overall supply remains at a high level. In southern regions and elsewhere, affected by electricity-fee discounts and cost constraints, manufacturers’ restart schedules are relatively slow, and the industry overall still faces inventory pressure. On the demand side, downstream steel mills’ March steel procurement tenders have been rolling out, and inquiry activity has seen a modest rebound, but the recovery pace of end-use steel demand remains relatively slow, with purchases driven mainly by rigid demand. It is expected that in the short term, silicon manganese prices will continue to trade in a range-bound manner; going forward, key things to monitor include steel mills’ procurement pace and changes in manganese ore and power costs, as prices may hover between 5800-6000 yuan/ton. (Zhuochuang Information)