The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has continued its strong upward movement in the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.33/dmtu at China’s Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $6.02/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $6.02/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.08/dmtu.
Demand for Australian lump ore has been quite strong in China in the past week, but traders have mostly been holding on to their stocks, similar to the situation last week. Downstream manganese alloy prices have also been increasing and this has boosted demand for manganese ore. However, manganese ore traders are waiting for prices to move up further. Both low supply and high demand are contributing to the upward trend of manganese ore prices. As for the coming week, new manganese ore shipments are expected to arrive at Chinese ports and so the shortage of manganese ore supply may be eased somewhat. It is thought that manganese ore prices in China may continue to increase in the coming week, but by a smaller margin.