The Chinese domestic manganese ore market continued its strong upward movement during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $7.73/dmtu at China’s Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $7.58/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $6.97/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.76/dmtu.
While demand from buyers in the Chinese manganese ore market is at good levels, supply is on the low side and this has weakened transaction activity somewhat. In the past week, the largest price increases have been seen for Australian lump ore with high manganese content, especially as inventory levels of Australian lump ore have been at very low levels. Meanwhile, the downstream manganese alloy market has also been moving on a rising trend and this has boosted demand for manganese ore. As for the week ahead, it is believed that there is still room for further upward movement of manganese ore prices in China.