The Chinese manganese ore market is on a slight upward trend for the time being, supported by the increased manganese alloy purchase prices announced by domestic mills for early June. Meanwhile, the mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content stand at $6.84-6.92/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.76-6.92/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.38-6.61/dmtu, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $6.23-6.30/dmtu.
The prospects generally appear bright for the Chinese domestic manganese ore market in the coming period due to many factors, including production costs, inventory volumes and the trend of mills' purchase prices for manganese alloys. Manganese alloy (Mn65Si17) purchase prices quoted by the mills in June are hovering at around $1,292-1,307/mt delivered, up $45-61/mt compared to one month ago. Consumption of manganese alloy inventories at Chinese ports has been slow as most traders are reluctant to sell products at the current time, as they are expecting prices to rise in the coming period.