China’s manganese ore prices have shown some signs of retreating this week, as sentiment in the domestic market softened with the decrease in silico manganese futures prices, Mysteel Global learned.
As of 15 May, the price of South Africa-origin 36.5% grade manganese ore at North China’s Tianjin port under Mysteel’s assessment was at yuan 53/dmtu ($7.4/dmtu) including the 13% VAT, higher by yuan 1/dmtu on week though it had slipped by yuan 0.5/dmtu from the four-year high recorded on Tuesday.
Domestic manganese ore traders have watched the fluctuation in silico manganese futures prices, and many have opted to stay out of the market for now, sources said. Some have preferred to take their profits and then step away, given the uncertainty of ore prices in the domestic market, they said.
On Wednesday, the most-traded silico manganese contract on the Zhengzhou Futures Exchange (ZFE) for delivery in September closed lower for the second trading day at yuan 8,216/tonne (t), falling by yuan 628/t from the settlement price on 14 May, according to the exchange’s data.
Silico manganese prices in the physical market also decreased slightly on Wednesday, with the national price of 6517 silico manganese under Mysteel’s assessment reaching yuan 8,129/t including the 13% VAT, lower by yuan 156/t from the previous day and ending the continuous one-month rally.
Many market participants are cautious about buying or selling manganese ore and silico manganese at the moment, as they are waiting for the new-round bidding prices of the major steel producers for silico manganese for this month delivery, Mysteel Global noted.
Earlier this week, Hebei Iron and Steel Group, a major steel producer in North China’s Hebei province, released a bidding volume of 8,080 tonnes (t) of silico manganese for May delivery, lower by a marked 4,720 t on month, according to Mysteel’s survey. The mill’s bidding price is yet to be opened.
Inventories of manganese ore at China’s major ports had declined to 4.88 mnt as of 10 May, lower by 143,000 t or 2.8% from the prior week, according to Mysteel’s latest weekly survey.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with an article exchange agreement between MySteel Global and BigMint.