In India, the export incentive on silico manganese will be reduced to 2% from the existing 5.5% in the future. As US$30 - US$40 per ton in terms of the current market is gone, the producers are passing this to its sales price, but no shipper considers it as a factor for price hike because the timing of implementation is yet to be fixed. The current market has continued tapering down owing to weak demand in the Asian region, cheap Vietnamese product and rupee depreciation.

The offer price meant for Japan is down by around US$20 from mid-October. The situation of dollar appreciation and rupee depreciation up to now has come up to the surface. On the other hand, the contract price dropped by around US$15. This is because the cheap prices are seen sporadically in the tenders floated by electric furnace mills, and the customers which buy at a high price has decreased.

Although the market for domestic consumption in China stops declining temporarily, there is a strong anticipation of a price fall. There are many producers which are suffering from money-losing operation due to the increased production cost, and the shutdown of the plant is anticipated to be prevailing in the future. The shutdown of ferroalloy plants are being implemented in some areas in Inner Mongolia for the purpose to alleviate the air pollution during APEC in Beijing (7th to 11 th of November), but no heavy impact to the supply quantity is anticipated. Although the quantity was small, the contract meant for Japan was US$1,470 - US$1,495 per ton CIF.

• [Editor:Sophie]