MERAFE: Ferrochrome price announcement for Q3 2021

Merafe Resources has advised that the European benchmark ferrochrome price for the third quarter of 2021 has been settled at 156 US cents per pound, a rollover from the second quarter of 2021.

The settlement is announced every quarter by Merafe Resources, which operates a chrome joint venture with trader-miner Glencore in South Africa.

The benchmark is a forward-looking price for the coming quarter. It is settled via negotiations between a leading South African ferro-chrome producer and a major European stainless steel mill.

Robust demand continued to support the high- and low-carbon ferro-chrome markets in Europe this month. The market was supported by strength in the stainless-steel sector leading to shortages in the market, with consumers ramping-up their requirements.
“We have never been so stretched before. There is extremely strong demand,” a producer said. Prices have been supported since the EU announced that it would impose import duties on materials from Indian and Indonesian stainless-steel producers.

This was expected to support Europe’s domestic stainless-steel production and to spur increased demand for feedstock.