Demand unlikely to improve in Chinese manganese ore market

The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has moved on a stable trend during the past few days. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.36-6.53/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $6.53-6.69/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $6.04/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.38/dmtu.
 
After the Chinese New Year, manganese ore prices at Chinese ports have remained at the same price levels as before the New Year holiday. The domestic manganese ore market has not yet fully resumed business, while the trading volume in the market is very low. Traders state that all market players will have returned to the market by next week. Quotations of manganese ore from overseas supplies are expected to provide support for manganese ore prices in China, but the weakness of domestic demand for manganese ore is unlikely to indicate an improvement. Accordingly, it is believed that Chinese domestic manganese ore prices will move on a slight downtrend in the coming week.