- Elevated import costs support Mn ore offers
- Ore traders stay bullish on rising SiMn futures
Mysteel: China’s manganese ore prices experienced minor fluctuations this week, with prices of the South Africa-origin 36.5% grade at North China’s Tianjin Port under Mysteel’s assessment standing at RMB 32.8/dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) ($4.6/dmtu), including 13% VAT, as of 10 June, dipping by RMB 0.2/dmtu w-o-w. Prices remained supported despite cautious sentiment among buyers.
Domestic manganese ore traders were reluctant to make more concessions in their offers, citing high import costs. Meanwhile, better performance of silico manganese futures also encouraged Chinese traders to hold their manganese ore offers at the current level to monitor market changes, Mysteel Global learnt.
As of 10 June, the most-traded SiMn contract on the Zhengzhou Futures Exchange for delivery in September closed the daytime trading sessions at RMB 5,542/tonne (t), higher by RMB 154/t from the settlement price recorded one week earlier, according to the exchange’s data.
Prices of SiMn in the physical market also recovered slightly, with the national price of 6517 SiMn reaching RMB 5,451/t, including 13% VAT, on June 10, up by RMB 41/t from one week before, according to Mysteel’s assessment.
Besides, manganese ore demand from downstream manganese alloy smelters may remain steady in the near term, supported by their high-level alloy production. This outlook has strengthened traders’ confidence, who are waiting for the next round of manganese ore offers from major overseas mines.
However, inventories of manganese ore at China’s major ports accumulated last week, with the increased volume delivered to the ports placing some pressure on prices.
Mysteel’s latest weekly survey showed that as of 6 June, manganese ore stocks at the sampled ports under its tracking totalled 4.2 million tonnes (mnt), higher by 132,000 t or 3.2% w-o-w.
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