The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has continued its stable trend in the past week, as predicted in our previous report. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.88-7.13/dmtu at China’s Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $7.29/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $6.32/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.67/dmtu.
The very slight decrease announced recently by Australian miner BHP Billiton in its manganese ore quotations has not had much influence on domestic ore prices in China. Meanwhile, the positive influence from higher-than-expected manganese alloy purchase prices has been diminishing. With no major changes expected in factors capable of influencing the market, Chinese domestic manganese ore prices will likely maintain their stable trend for another while.