China's manganese ore market has mostly moved on a stable trend in the past week, though slight upticks have been seen for certain materials. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.26/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.26/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.19/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.95/dmtu.
During the past week, steel mills in China increased their purchase prices for manganese alloys, which in turn provided some support for the domestic manganese ore market. Meanwhile, Australian miner BHP Billiton has kept its manganese ore price stable for December. At the same time, with new supplies gradually reaching Chinese ports, manganese ore inventory levels in China have been rising steadily and this has made it more difficult for prices in the market to rise. It is thought that slight upward movements may be seen in manganese ore prices in China in the coming week.