Chinese domestic manganese ore prices have mostly softened slightly during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $8.64/dmtu (RMB 58/dmtu) at China’s Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $8.35/dmtu (RMB 56/dmtu). Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $8.27/dmtu (RMB 55.5/dmtu), while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $7.38/dmtu (RMB 49.5/dmtu). ($1 = RMB 6.71)
Overall trading activity in the local Chinese manganese ore market has been at low levels in the past seven days, while the minor downticks seen in most prices have been due to the soft trend of the downstream manganese alloy market. However, some manganese ore traders have been unwilling to reduce their prices due to the high cost of their inventories. As for the week ahead, it is believed that manganese ore prices may follow a mainly stable trend, with some slight price declines also likely.