Henan Smelter Completes Refined Cadmium Sale at RMB 27,600/ton Amid Market Weakness

India's inclusion of chromite among the five minerals initially eligible for trading on the proposed mineral exchanges provides the regulatory basis for a new domestic price-discovery mechanism. The significance for the chromium market lies in the potential shift from predominantly negotiated or transaction-specific pricing toward a more transparent market reference based on exchange transactions. The framework envisages electronic trading, standardized quality specifications, assaying arrangements and delivery-based contracts, which could make price comparisons across different chromite grades and transactions more consistent. If sufficient miners, processors and ferrochrome producers participate, exchange-generated transaction data could eventually provide a useful reference for domestic chromite prices and quality differentials. However, the extent of its influence will depend on actual trading volumes, market participation and liquidity once an exchange becomes operational; the current registration process does not yet establish that such a price benchmark will emerge.

During the National Day holiday, the domestic silicon‑manganese market and its upstream‑downstream sectors saw generally stable prices with thin trading and no notable price swings. Three core variables deserve close attention post‑holiday. The manganese alloy industrial chain is expected to show relatively obvious improvement in November.

During the National Day holiday, China's SiMn market and its upstream and downstream sectors remained stable overall, with sluggish trading and no significant price fluctuations. The SiMn market is currently locked in a tug-of-war between longs and shorts, underpinned by costs on one side and weighed down by weak demand and high inventories on the other. Prices lack an independent trend, with intraday fluctuations largely tracking ferrous metals and macro-driven futures. Over the medium and long term, there is no notable supply gap in the industry, and the overall supply-demand balance remains loose, making a fundamental reversal difficult. Both upside and downside are limited for the SiMn market, and it is likely to continue moving sideways in the near term. A turning point will require a substantive recovery in end-use demand or the implementation of concentrated production cuts across the industry. The manganese alloy industry chain is expected to show more noticeable improvement in November.