China’s chrome ore imports increased by slightly more than 1% month-on-month in October, according to official customs data released last week. Imports from South Africa accounted for around 489,000 tonnes, roughly 56% of the total amount imported. South Africa’s share of China’s chrome ore imports has been increasing steadily since last year. In 2010, South African-origin chrome ore accounted for an average of around 36% of China’s total intake; this year that average has risen to almost 48% (see charts one and two below). Meanwhile, China imported roughly 108,000 tonnes of HC/Charge ferrochrome in October, a 25% increase on the previous month.
TISCO, China’s largest stainless steel producer, has cut its bid price for charge chrome to Rmb7,000/tonne ($1,100/tonne) or roughly 83 US cents/lb, according to Ferro-alloys.com. This price is well below the indicative bid price – Rmb7,700/tonne – issued by Baosteel the week before last and is also below recent spot market quotations, according to Ferro-alloys.com. TISCO is reported to have sufficient charge chrome inventories to abstain from buying in the near future, according to Steel Business Briefing. Prior to its announcement, TISCO’s bid price was expected to be set at round Rmb7,500-7,600/tonne.
Prices for foundry sand and chemical-grade chrome ore have fallen back in recent weeks, according to Industrial Minerals. Export prices for South African foundry sands have dropped back to around $440/tonne fob on average, down from about $500/tonne at their Q2 peaks earlier this year, the reports add. Industrial Minerals attributed the drop in prices to lower export demand from China and Europe.
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