Supply still exceeds demand in local Chinese manganese ore market

The Chinese domestic manganese ore market has followed a sideways trend during the past week. The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 46 percent Mn content currently stand at $5.28/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of lump ore of 48 percent Mn content are at $5.53/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 44 percent grade Mn ore from Gabon are at $5.20/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $4.72/dmtu.
 
Trading activity in the Chinese domestic manganese ore market has remained sluggish during the past week, also due to the influence of the New Year holiday, though activity at northern Chinese ports has been a bit better compared to southern ports. Supply in the market still exceeds demand and so manganese ore traders are not very optimistic on the future prospects for the market. Demand in the downstream manganese alloy market has also been weak, though manganese alloy production in northern China is at higher levels compared to the south, contributing to the slightly stronger demand for manganese ore in the north. As for the coming week, the ongoing weakness of demand may lead to slight price decreases in the Chinese domestic manganese ore market.