The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has remained on a stable trend during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $5.53/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $5.69/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $5.37/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $4.80/dmtu.
Manganese ore inventories at Chinese ports are currently at high levels. Overall trading activity in the Chinese domestic manganese ore market has been on the sluggish side against the backdrop of the decreases in downstream manganese alloy prices in the past few weeks. At the same time, trading of manganese ore at northern ports has been somewhat better than at southern ports. With manganese alloy producers in northern China obliged to reduce their production activities due to pollution in the region, demand for manganese ore in northern China may decline in the coming weeks. Overall, it is thought that manganese ore prices in the Chinese domestic market may continue their stable trend in the coming seven days, while demand is likely to remain slack.