Posted on 29 Mar 2024
Chinese prices of manganese ore remained stable over the past week, with the price of South Africa-origin 36.5% grade Mn ore at North China's Tianjin port under Mysteel's assessment staying at Yuan 33/dmtu ($4.6/dmtu) including the 13% VAT as of March 27, the same level from one week before.
The domestic manganese ore market is still under pressure from the persistent weakness of manganese alloy prices in both the physical and derivative markets, Mysteel Global learned.
As of March 27, the national price of 6517 silicomanganese (SiMn) was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 5,848/t including the 13% VAT, falling by Yuan 68/t on week and marking the lowest since November 2019.
On Wednesday, the most-traded SiMn contract on the Zhengzhou Futures Exchange for delivery in May closed the daytime trading session at Yuan 6,100/t, lower by Yuan 68/t from the settlement price on March 20, according to the exchange's data.
Manganese ore transactions in the physical market remain scarce, as many SiMn smelters are cautious about purchasing this ore given their limited consumption as a consequence of their lower SiMn output and the poorly performing SiMn market.
However, domestic manganese ore prices still enjoy some support from the relatively low inventories at China's major ports. As of March 22, total manganese ore stocks at the major ports registered 5.08 million tonnes, down by 8,000 tonnes from the previous week, or lower by 1.08 million tonnes on year, according to Mysteel's latest weekly survey.
In parallel, the disruptions to manganese ore shipments from Australia and the higher offering prices of major overseas mines may also lend some support to China's Mn ore prices in the near term, Mysteel Global noted.
Jupiter Mines Limited, an Australian company which has a 49.9% beneficial interest in Tshipi é Ntle in South Africa, has decided to raise its price of manganese lump ore (grading Mn 36.5%) by $0.05/dmtu on month to $3.95/dmtu CIF China for shipments in April, as reported.
Source:Mysteel Global
