Weak demand lowers spot imported manganese ore from June offers
South32’s offer of Australian ore with 46% Mn fell $0.4/dmtu month on month and stood at $7.8/dmtu CIF in June.
The downward adjustment was expected by domestic buyers. However, the lower offer in June still stands higher from the latest spot price. We assessed Australian ore with 46% Mn at 57.5 CNY/dmtu at TIANJIN port on Monday, lower from offers of 61 CNY/dmtu in June that translated to a spot price. Weak downstream demand for higher-priced spot manganese ore weighed on latest spot prices.
As downstream silicon-manganese alloys trade thinly in April, alloy plants chose to use stock ores to book Australian shipments instead of purchasing spot cargo. Some that purchased spot manganese ore as needed tried to lower prices. Manganese ore traders accepted lower traded prices, even prices below cost.
Manganese ore inventory at ports has grown from March. At TIANJIN port, manganese ore stocks rose 500,000.00 MT to 2.1 million MT in two months, as of May 4.
Market players expect generally demand for manganese ore to grow this month given current low prices at TIANJIN port on May 7 and previous slow procurement. Transactions are expected to pick up in middle May when the silicon-manganese alloy market improves.
