Producers are almost all sold out for deliveries between April and June and are offering alloy near the current price peak, with one producer reporting a deal for 100 tonnes of standard grade at €1,500 per tonne on a fca (free on truck) basis, Fastmarkets was told.
Supply worries are cementing the bullish market sentiment, with no material being offered from traditional exporters into Europe, such as Brazil, Ukraine and Malaysia, until May at the earliest due to either limited output and/or firm domestic/regional demand, sources said.
"We’re selling standard-grade ferro-silicon around €1,500 per tonne ddp," one supplier in Europe said. "There’s a shortage of material in Europe because Brazil and Malaysia are postponing export deliveries while there is difficulty getting containers, which are currently priced around $2,500 per container. There’s an overall shortage of containers in the ports plus queues to load and unload anything, including...
