Seaborne manganese ore prices continued to face pressure last week against a backdrop of falling portside ore prices, weak alloy futures contracts, and lower-than-expected tender price for July-delivery silico-manganese from Hebei Steel, China's second largest steel mill.
Fastmarkets' manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin tumbled to $4.21 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on July 3, down by 34 cents or 7.5% from $4.55 per dmtu on June 26. The index is down 38% from highs of $6.79 per dmtu on April 24.Fastmarkets calculated the manganese ore index, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin at $4.57 per dmtu on July 3, down by 45 cents or 9% from $5.02 per dmtu on June 26. The index reached a high of $6.55 per dmtu on May 1, following disrupted supply and shipments from South Africa...