Manganese ore prices have remained stable during the past week in the local Chinese market. The volume of actual transactions has not improved as local traders are maintaining a wait-and-see stance. As a result, transaction activity is unable to provide support for the upward movement of prices in the short term. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.85-6.92/dmtu at
China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.62-6.77/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.38-6.62/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $6.15-6.46/dmtu.
Three major steel enterprises in
China have lately cut their steel product prices for July, clearly reflecting the present weakness of the domestic steel market. The mainstream view is that in the short term the tight Chinese macroeconomic policy has reduced the availability of funds and that the problem of lack of orders will continue to exert an influence on the iron and steel market. Several domestic ferroalloy manufacturers have said they have already completed their manganese ore purchases at present. They also consider that their demand for manganese ore will not be strong in the short term. Although the silicon manganese price has risen slightly, the increase is insufficient to push up the manganese ore market. According to feedback from various manufacturers, the downstream market is still in a slump, and the manganese ore market shows no real signs of upward movement at the present time and could even start to decline.