Seaborne prices for both low and high-grade manganese ore in China were rangebound in the week to Friday September 25, although moving in slightly divergent trends amid a persistently poor market sentiment following continued weakness in both the portside ore and alloy futures markets, sources said.
Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin was $4.27 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on September 25, down by 2 cents, or 0.5%, from $4.29 per dmtu the prior week.
Fastmarkets' corresponding
manganese ore index, 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth nudged up by 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $3.58 per dmtu on the same day, from $3.57 per dmtu the week before.
The price of seaborne low-grade ore continued to trend down for the second consecutive week while the weak market sentiment prevailed over the pricing session, Fastmarkets heard.
"We'll only consider building positions when the price [of seaborne low-grade ore] sit at around $4.15-4.20 per dmtu. It's relatively safe to buy seaborne cargoes when their prices are cheaper than portside ones," a Chinese ore trader said.
Prices were already...