Smelters raise silicon metal prices slightly

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 22 Jun 06 -- As more people come for silicon metal and materials become tight, smelters also raise their prices slightly.

A Guizhou smelter, who is running one furnace of 6,300kva in operation for the production of 5-5-3 only, is selling materials for RMB7,500/t (USD937/t). "We're trying to sell materials at higher price around RMB7,550/t (USD944/t)," said the source, "As many people come for materials, so we want to raise the price a bit."

According to the source, traders are exporting 5-5-3 for USD960-965/t FOB. "The export price is increasing by about USD5-10/t, so it's likely for them to accept this price increase," said the source who claimed the mainstream price for 5-5-3 is around RMB7,450-7,500/t (USD931-937/t).

But another smelter in Sichuan is seeing a better market. "We just signed an order of 120t of 5-5-3 for RMB7,550/t (USD944/t)," said the source who claimed other smelters in Sichuan are selling 5-5-3 for RMB7,500/t (USD937/t), "But we'll not sell below RMB7,550/t (USD944/t)."

The source is running one furnace of 6,300kva and will put another into operation later this June. "The third furnace in Guizhou was forced to close down due to the high power cost in early June," said the source.

The power tariff in Guizhou is as high as RMB0.35-0.36/kwh, much higher than that of RMB0.Asian Metal Copyright BEIJING Asian Metal 22 Jun 06 -- As more people come for silicon metal and materials become tight, smelters also raise their prices slightly.Asian Metal Copyright23-0.24/kwh in Sichuan, the source said.

Meanwhile, the source revealed that buyers want to book 300t of 5-5-3 at a time, but he only accepted 120t. "We're not sure of the market trend.Asian Metal Copyright Meanwhile, the source revealed that buyers want to book 300t of 5-5-3 at a time, but he only accepted 120t.Asian Metal Copyright Moreover, we're considering to produce metals of 3-3-0-3 and 4-4-1," the source stated.