China's domestic manganese ore market has mostly followed a stable trend during the past week, though some slight declines have also been witnessed for some grades of ore. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $7.16-$7.32/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $7.32/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are in the range of $6.69/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $6.37/dmtu.
Australian miner BHP Billiton's quoted prices still constitute the main source of support for domestic manganese ore prices in China. Meanwhile, the purchase prices of manganese alloys in China have moved down RMB 200/mt ($33/mt) for April. It is thought that the weakness in the downstream alloy market will continue in the coming period. It is expected that in the coming week China's manganese ore market will continue to see a mostly stable trend though also possibly with some slight downticks.