The smelting cost of high-carbon ferrochrome dropped before rising in April. As of May 10, costs of spot raw materials in Inner Mongolia were 8,793 yuan/mt (Cr 50%), a month-on-month decline of 113 yuan/mt (Cr 50%) or 1.31%.

The prices of coke fell for five consecutive rounds in April, with a cumulative drop of around 300 yuan/mt for secondary metallurgical coke.

This improved profit at ferrochrome plants despite strong chrome ore prices. As of May 10, the ex-factory prices of secondary metallurgical coke in Inner Mongolia fell to 1,650 yuan/mt.

Electricity prices in Sichuan declined with the onset of the flat water period at the end of April, but high chrome ore prices prevented local ferrochrome plants from restarting production. Electricity charges in other provinces of south China remained high, so the cost advantage of electricity charges in north China was outstanding.

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