Where to find live FeSi prices
Primary sources onlyTSM does not display real-time FeSi quotes on this page — instead, we link directly to the regulated exchanges and benchmark price-reporting agencies (PRAs) that produce the actual numbers. One True Source for All: where the data originates, that is where you should read it.
- NoteNo regulated futures contract for ferroalloys on any major exchange
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)Fastmarkets — FeSi 75% in-warehouse Rotterdam, CIF Japan/Korea, US assessments ↗
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)Argus Media — ferrosilicon prices ↗
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)Platts / S&P Global — FeSi assessments ↗
- Benchmark administrator (PRA)SMM (Shanghai Metals Market) — Chinese domestic spot (CNY) ↗
- Official statisticsUSGS MCS 2026 Silicon — US annual avg price (Si-content basis) ↗
Exchange access is free for delayed prices on most LME/SHFE/CME pages; live tick-by-tick data and PRA assessments are paid subscriptions sold by the exchange or by Fastmarkets / Argus / S&P Global Platts directly. See TSM Sources methodology for the full source tiering.
About Ferrosilicon (FeSi)
Editorial · sourcedWhat is ferrosilicon?
Ferrosilicon (FeSi) is an iron-silicon master alloy, smelted in submerged-arc furnaces from quartz (SiO₂) + coke + iron scrap or mill scale. The dominant grade is FeSi 75% (~75% Si, balance Fe with low C, Al and Ca); other grades include FeSi 65, FeSi 45 (lower silicon, for cooling additions), and high-purity FeSi for electrical-steel and casting applications. Per USGS MCS 2026 Silicon, global silicon-content production splits between ferrosilicon (the larger share by tonnage) and silicon metal (the parent commodity, used for aluminium alloying, silicones and photovoltaic / semiconductor polysilicon).
How FeSi is priced
FeSi has no regulated futures contract. Daily and weekly assessments are published by Fastmarkets, Argus and Platts / S&P Global — typically as in-warehouse Rotterdam (US dollars per metric ton, FeSi 75% basis), CIF Japan/Korea and US Pittsburgh basis. SMM publishes the Chinese domestic spot in CNY. USGS reports a US annual average price in the silicon MCS chapter. FeSi pricing is sensitive to electricity costs at the smelting end (a 9-12 MWh/t process) and to the supply discipline of large Chinese and Russian producers.
Where FeSi is produced
FeSi production is dominated by China (~70% of world output, mainly in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai — energy-intensive smelting on coal-based grid power), Russia (ChEMK Chelyabinsk, Mechel Bratsk, Kuzbass), Norway (Elkem, Finnfjord, Wacker — hydropower-based), Brazil (CBCC, Rima), Kazakhstan (Aksu via ERG), USA (Globe Specialty Metals via Ferroglobe), South Africa (SiliconSmelters), Bhutan (Bhutan Ferro Alloys). The USGS MCS 2026 Silicon chapter reports US ferrosilicon production at ~110 kt in 2025 with imports primarily from Russia (suspended/tariffed), Brazil, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.
Who produces FeSi
Major FeSi producers globally:
- Ferroglobe (FerroAtlántica + Globe Specialty Metals) — Spain, USA, France, South Africa, Argentina.
- Elkem — Norway (Salten, Thamshavn, Bremanger, Bjølvefossen), China, Iceland.
- ChEMK — Russia, largest CIS ferroalloy producer.
- Mechel — Russia (Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant).
- Finnfjord — Norway (FeSi + smoke-to-CO₂-capture).
- Wacker Chemie — Germany (silicon metal + FeSi).
- ERG / Kazchrome — Kazakhstan (Aksu).
- Chinese smelters in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai — fragmented base.
What FeSi is used for
FeSi consumption breaks down approximately as:
- Carbon steel deoxidation — the largest single use; FeSi removes oxygen as SiO₂ slag.
- Stainless and silicon steel alloying — particularly for grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES, ~3% Si) and non-oriented electrical steel (NOES, ~1-3.5% Si) used in transformer cores, motor laminations and EV traction motors.
- Cast iron inoculation and modification — ductile iron requires Mg-FeSi nodulariser; grey iron uses inoculant-grade FeSi.
- Reductant for magnesium production (Pidgeon process) — ferrosilicon is the silicothermic reductant for the majority of world primary Mg metal.
Key facts about FeSi supply
- Silicon is on the USGS 2025 Critical Minerals list as a metalloid critical to semiconductors, photovoltaics and electrification.
- FeSi smelting consumes ~9-12 MWh/t — meaning power-cost shocks pass through directly. Norwegian and Icelandic FeSi has a structural cost advantage on hydropower; Chinese FeSi tracks domestic coal-electricity tariffs.
- Electrical steel demand (for EV traction motors and grid transformers) is the fastest-growing FeSi end-use through 2030.
- Reserves: see parent Silicon page (silicon metal is the broader category; FeSi is the iron-bearing ferroalloy variant).