High port inventories holding down manganese ore prices in China

Manganese ore prices were under pressure from stubborn port inventories in China during the week ended Friday July 30, with buying sentiment further lowered by new cuts to alloy production to be imposed in the south of the country.

Almost all manganese alloy smelters in Ningxia province suspended their operations from July 27 due to reduced electricity supplies, market participants told Fastmarkets.
The south China province normally produces about 130,000-140,000 tonnes per month of silico-manganese, which is around 16% of total domestic output, they added.
"The current shutdown will last until August 2, but we expect [electricity] supply to remain tight throughout the whole of August," one silico-manganese producer in Ningxia province said.

Although the expectation of tighter supplies of alloy products supported silico-manganese and ferro-manganese prices, the pause in production has stalled buying activity for manganese ore, weakening manganese ore...

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