Manganese ore prices were hovering around recent levels amid low liquidity in the week to Friday April 5, while load shedding in South Africa continued to be supportive of alloy prices in Europe.
Low activity for ores in China Alloy prices in Europe rise on lower supply Indian silico-manganese suppliers lift offer prices Silico-manganese market in US drops There was little movement in the prices of imported high- and low-grade manganese ore into China last week, when liquidity was dampened by China's Tomb Sweeping Day (Friday April 5). Fastmarkets' 37% manganese ore index, cif Tianjin, nudged up 3 cents to $6.20 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday. Fastmarkets' 37% manganese ore index, fob Port Elizabeth, ticked up 2 cents to $5.53 per dmtu on the same day. Some consumers accepted a higher offer price and this supported the price of low-grade ore over the assessment period. However, this was not considered to be the start of an upward trend, according to most market participants. The market is balanced, according a producer, who thought the price of semi-carbonate material would...