The Chinese manganese ore market has mainly moved on a stable trend, while weak demand and low trading volumes still prevail in the market.
The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.25/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.25/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.00/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.92/dmtu.
Production by manganese alloy producers is likely to be decreased in the coming period and so domestic demand for manganese ore is expected to decrease also. Australian miner BHP Billiton has not yet released its manganese ore quotations for October, but it is thought that there is a strong probability that it will decrease its prices. Meanwhile, there is a lack of support for manganese ore prices in China on the demand side. Against this overall background, manganese ore prices in China may decrease in the coming period.