Seaborne low-grade manganese ore prices dropped for the second consecutive week on Friday February 5 on weakening demand and high Chinese port stocks, which outweighed logistical disruptions.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin dropped 6 cents week on week to $4.62 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on February 5.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore 44% Mn, cif Tianjin edged up 2 cents to $5.07 per dmtu, its 10th consecutive weekly increase.
Sentiment was slightly better among high grade ore market participants but sellers of both grades have been struggling with liquidity.
Severe rain in South Africa has triggered a series of
force majeure declarations from miners
UMK,
Assmang and
South32 on some manganese shipments, along with two from state transportation provider Transnet for rail lines and its Richards Bay Terminal.
In addition to disrupting mine work, the rains have washed away some rail lines, damaged some roads and left other areas underwater.
So far,...