Chinese silico-manganese producers withdrew from the portside spot market this week, citing sufficient stocks having increased their procurement volumes ahead of the release of the July tender price by Hebei Steel, forcing some ore traders to lower their offers.
Fastmarkets' manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin China, dropped by 0.30 yuan week on week to 48.30 yuan ($7.03) per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday July 12, having risen for four consecutive weeks previously. The manganese ore port index, base 44% Mn, range 42-48%, fot Tianjin China, edged down by 0.10 yuan to 50.30 yuan per tonne on the same day following a month's uptrend. Chinese alloy smelters typically buy enough ore to cover three to seven days of operations in a falling market. But in recent weeks, many smelters built up inventory to maintain normal production for around 15-30...