The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has moved on a stable trend during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.97/dmtu at China’s Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $6.82/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $6.67/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.16/dmtu.
The Chinese manganese ore market has continued to receive support from short supply during the past week, while overseas miners’ quotations for China have indicated an upward trend. Accordingly, the domestic manganese ore market has moved sideways even though downstream manganese alloy market prices in China have softened. Overall trading activity in the domestic manganese ore market is still at low levels, but it has lately started to improve as downstream alloy producers have increased their production volumes. As for the week ahead, it is believed that domestic manganese ore prices may continue to move sideways.