The Chinese manganese ore market has remained on a stable trend after the National Day holiday (October 1-7). The mainstream quotations of Australian lump ore with 44 percent Mn content currently stand at $6.16/dmtu at China's Tianjin port, while offers of South African origin lump ore of 44 percent Mn content are at $6.25/dmtu. Also at Tianjin port, quotations for 38 percent grade Mn ore from Australia are in the range of $6.00/dmtu, while offers of South African lump ore of 38 percent Mn content are at $5.92/dmtu.
The Chinese manganese ore market has followed a stable trend after the holiday, since the purchases concluded before the holiday had reduced manganese ore inventory levels at Chinese ports, thereby providing enough support to keep market prices stable. Manganese alloy producers foresee that steel mills will further reduce their purchase prices for manganese alloys in October. Accordingly, manganese alloy producers may reduce their output volumes, which would lead to a reduction in demand for iron ore. Observers believe that manganese ore inventory levels at the ports will remain a key factor in deciding the domestic manganese ore market trend. Meanwhile, Australian miner BHP Billiton has kept its manganese ore quotations stable for November. For the coming week, given the low levels of inventory at the ports, it is thought that China's manganese ore market may see some slight upward movement.