Demand still at low levels in Chinese manganese ore market

The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has remained stable 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.
 
While the Chinese domestic manganese ore market has moved sideways in the past week, discounts have been seen for some ores from Gabon and South Africa at southern Chinese ports due to rising inventories of these ores. At the same time, overall trading activity in the market is still at low levels. New prices are expected to be issued for manganese alloys in China in the week ahead, with the manganese ore market expected to maintain a wait-and-see stance before the new prices are issued. The domestic manganese ore market is expected to remain on a sideways trend in the coming week.