Low activity and weak sentiment in Chinese manganese ore market

The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has witnessed slight price decreases for certain ores during the past week, while prices of other ores have remained stable. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $5.54/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $5.71/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $5.38/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $4.81/dmtu.
 
The downstream manganese alloy market in China has remained on a stable trend in the past seven days, while overall demand for manganese ore is quite slack and manganese ore inventory levels at the ports have continued to increase slightly. In this context, some traders have chosen to reduce their prices slightly. The low trading volume has contributed to negative sentiment among traders, despite the stable trends of overseas manganese ore quotations and downstream alloy prices. As for the coming week, it is believed that the Chinese manganese ore market will resume its previous stable trend, while trading activity is expected to remain weak.