[Ferro-alloys.com]This week bids of ferrosilicon for September delivery started, with Shandong Iron & Steel Group and Shougang Shuicheng Iron & Steel Group releasing bids already. The main stream ex-work tax-inclusive prices remained steady, with FeSi75# being RMB5,850-5,900/mt(USD950-958/mt) and FeSi72# being RMB5,500-5,600/mt(USD893-909/mt). July output of ferrosilicon was about 412.3 thousand tons in China, slightly up 4.03% from July 2013.

Export market ran low this week. The situation of foreign inquiries seemed sluggish, and foreign ferrosilicon buyers tried hard to slash the purchase price. Export price of ferrosilicon ranged from USD1,360/mt to USD1,380/mt FOB at Tianjin port. Exports of Chinese ferrosilicon reached 53,008 mt in July 2014, overtaking the 46,431 of June 2014.

FeSi75# remained €1,140-1,200/mt in European markets and 98-100 cents/lb in US market. Exports of Norway ferrosilicon were 19,628 mt in July 2014, registering large decrease of 28.7% from 27,515 mt of June 2014 and slight increase of 8.9% from 18,025 mt of July 2013. Ex-work price of FeSi75# was Rs75,500/mt (USD1,250/mt) in Guwahati, India and ex-work price of Bhutan FeSi75# rose to Rs 77,500/mt (  USD1,282/mt). Export prices from Bhutan to Europe remained USD1,340-1,360/mt,FOB at Kolkata port. Contract prices of FeSi75# declined to USD1,360-1,380/mt CIF at Japanese ports. FeSi75# was USD1,250-1,300/mt in South Korea.

Analysis: Increasing numbers of bids for ferrosilicon would occur next week and purchase volumes were likely to remain steady, due to pressure from environmental protection and eradication of excessive capacity. Tight supply was likely to enable September purchase prices to slightly go up in China.

• [Editor:Phillip.Feng]