United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK), one of the world’s leading manganese ore producers, has increased its offer price for 36% grade semi-carbonate lumps to $4.75/dmtu CIF China for June 2026 shipments, marking a $0.05/dmtu rise against May’26, primarily driven by increasing production and logistics costs.
Steady Chinese procurement supports higher UMK offers: The marginal increase in UMK’s manganese ore offers was primarily supported by stable procurement activity from Chinese alloy producers and firm consumption at silico-manganese plants. Market participants noted that Chinese buyers gradually resumed restocking after maintaining lean inventories in previous months.
Rising South African costs restrict aggressive price cuts: Supportive supply-side fundamentals also contributed to the increase in UMK’s offers. South African miners continued facing elevated production and logistics costs, including higher electricity tariffs, fuel expenses, and persistent rail transportation constraints. Market sources said producers were attempting to protect margins after prolonged volatility in manganese ore prices.
Leave a Reply