Power shortage pushes ferrophosphorus export prices up
2005-10-28 09:43:53 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 28 Oct 05 - Chinese ferrophosphorus export market keep moving up these months, with prices rising from USD300/t in July to USD325/t in September. Now the price stands around USD350/t, and producers believe that it would continue to go up in the coming months due to the tight supply.
A Yunnan-based ferrophosphorus smelter now quotes USD350/t FOB CMP for ferrophosphorus export, up from USD325/t a fortnight ago. According to the source, the government closed local ferrophosphorus smelters on 17 Oct due to the serious shortage of electric power. "We will not be allowed to produce for about 8 months starting Oct. 17, 2005 to Jun 22, 2006," said the producer. "So we have to raise our quotations now. The supply will be very tight in the coming months."
With only about 180tpm of the material in stock, the producer believes that the price would continue to rise in the coming months. "I think the price would reach USD450/t FOB CMP at the end of this year," said the producer. "We have already sold for USD450/t in Europe now."
The smelter usually exports about 7,000tpy of the material to foreign markets and purchases the material from local smelters, which have been closed by government due to the serious shortage of electric power, with current prices around RMB0.56KWH in the local area.
A Guangdong-based trader expects to purchase about 20t of ferrophosphorus, but has not made the deal now. "The price has moved up too quickly," said the producer. "We want to purchase the material for USD280/t, but we can not find the material now."
