Manganese ore prices have continued to remain stable during the past week in the local Chinese market. Meanwhile, the transaction volume saw a slight decline. 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 $6.15-6.41/dmtu.
Chinese traders are still very much interested in low cost manganese ore of Australian as well as of South African origin. However, the trading volume has not been as good as expected, particularly at northern Chinese ports such as Tianjin and Lianyungang. The transaction volume in the southern market has also declined because most manganese ore processing companies completed their purchases of manganese ore in the previous period. Traders state that low-priced ore has arrived at the ports while large stocks of higher-priced ore are still left. It is thought that it will be difficult to sell the high-cost ore at the ports in the coming period. Given the high levels of manganese ore inventory, it is difficult for the downstream market to push up manganese ore prices. Meanwhile, because of the high costs, the possibility of a price fall is small. In this context, the manganese ore market in
China is expected to remain stable again in the coming week.