Selenium market picks up on higher offers

SHANGHAI, Mar 2 (SMM) – Selenium prices in China rose during the week ended Friday March 2 amid more active trading and rising import costs.

SMM assessed selenium powder at 265-285 yuan/kg ex-works as of Friday, up 5 yuan/kg from levels seen before Chinese New Year (CNY) with sellers offering higher prices. This followed a price increase in the international market.   

SMM assessed selenium dioxide at 180-185 yuan/kg, up 3 yuan/kg from before CNY. Traded price in a buy tender issued by a manganese plant was higher than levels a fortnight ago, SMM learned.

For crude selenium, SMM's assessment stood at 225-230 yuan/kg on Friday, up 5 yuan/kg. While major producers have yet to make offers, they were inclined to raise offers following higher selenium powder prices. However, selenium dioxide producers were reluctant to stock up the raw material due to high inventories of the finished products.

SMM sees upward momentum for selenium dioxide prices with possible higher crude selenium prices and firm manganese prices. We also see limited downward room for crude selenium and selenium powder due to higher costs.

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