China's manganese ore market has continued its upward trend during the past week, though at a slower speed. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $7.16-$7.32/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $7.32/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are in the range of $6.84/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $6.69/dmtu.
Australian miner BHP Billiton has recently raised its manganese ore quotations, while according to its new system BHP Billiton may issue different prices to different downstream traders. Accordingly. domestic manganese ore prices are less dependent on BHP's quotations and the domestic market may not fluctuate as much as before. Meanwhile, as regards the manganese alloy market, major domestic steelmaker Hebei Steel has reduced its manganese alloy purchase prices for March, which is bad news for alloy producers. In addition, electricity charges are increasing and some manganese alloy producers are even thinking about reducing or halting production. Due to the weakness in the manganese alloy market, it is thought that demand for manganese ore in China will decrease. Nevertheless, foreign manganese ore quotations will continue to provide support for the domestic market. China's manganese ore market is expected to continue to rise in the coming week, but with a further slowdown in its upward movement.