The Chinese manganese ore market has continued to move on a slight upward trend during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.51/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.26/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.19/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $6.11/dmtu.
While the Chinese manganese ore market has remained on a slight rising trend in the past week, the upward movement in the market appears to have slowed a little as compared to the previous week. Overall supply has been getting tight, while demand is stable and manganese ore inventory levels at Chinese ports have decreased slightly. Manganese alloy producers predict that steel mills' purchase prices for manganese alloys will continue to move up but by a smaller margin. Meanwhile, electricity supply prices in southern China have been increasing, thereby putting pressure on alloy producers even though local governments have provided assistance in meeting part of their costs. Manganese alloy producers' output volumes are expected to be influenced by the higher electricity charges, thereby negatively impacting demand for manganese ore. In this overall context, it is believed that manganese ore prices in China will mostly move on a stable trend in the coming week.