- Market sentiment lifts on strong demand expectations
- Rising freights, falling port stocks support higher prices
Mysteel: Manganese ore prices in China continued to strengthen over 12-18 March, with prices of South Africa-origin 36.5% grade manganese ore at North China’s Tianjin Port under Mysteel’s assessment reaching RMB 40/dmtu ($5.8/dmtu), including the 13% VAT, on 18 March, rising by RMB 0.5/dmtu from one week earlier.
Domestic manganese ore traders are trying to raise their sales prices to offset their higher import costs with the increased offers of major overseas mines.
Many market participants are optimistic about manganese ore prices in the near future, as major mining companies abroad may continue to hike their manganese ore offers for shipments to China, given their own rises in production costs. Meanwhile, the surge in international oil prices amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has also driven up ocean freight costs, Mysteel Global learnt.
Besides, demand for manganese ore from alloy smelters remains firm with the smelters’ relatively high run rates and their expansions in alloy smelting capacity. This also boosted market sentiment and lent some support to China’s manganese ore prices.
Mysteel’s weekly survey showed that over 6-12 March, daily production of silico manganese (SiMn) among the 187 Chinese smelters under its tracking averaged 28,240 tonnes (t)/day, rising by 260 t/d from the prior week and touching a four-month high. The 187 sampled smelters host about 99% of China’s silico manganese smelting capacity.
Inventories of manganese ore at China’s major ports monitored by Mysteel declined steadily during the sample week, with the total tonnage standing at 4.71 million tonnes as of 12 March, down for the second week by 21,000 t w-o-w.
Firm prices of manganese ore also provided some support for China’s silico manganese prices, Mysteel Global noted. On 18 March, Mysteel assessed national prices of 6517 silico manganese at RMB 5,961/t including the 13% VAT, jumping by RMB 105/t from one week earlier.
Note: This article has been written in accordance with a content exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and BigMint.
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