Chinese domestic manganese ore prices have indicated a mostly stable trend in the past week, with some slight downticks for certain grades. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.40/dmtu (RMB 41.5/dmtu) at China’s Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $6.17/dmtu (RMB 40/dmtu). Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $6.09/dmtu (RMB 39.5/dmtu), while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.63/dmtu (RMB 36.5/dmtu).
Overall trading activity for manganese ore in the domestic market has remained weak, while downstream alloy producers have mostly finished their winter stock building. Certain traders have chosen to reduce their quoted prices slightly in order to close more deals but, since the cost-side support is still strong, the decrease margins have been very small. As for the week ahead, it is believed that manganese ore prices in China may continue their stable movement with some slight decreases, with demand expected to remain weak.
$1 = RMB 6.485