Seaborne high-grade manganese ore prices rallied for a third consecutive week on Friday July 2 with deals concluded at higher levels, while the seaborne low-grade market held amid thin liquidity ahead of a new round of offers from miners in South Africa.
The high-grade manganese ore market rose as a result of buyers booking August-shipment material at higher prices compared with the previous month.
Fastmarkets calculated the index for
manganese ore, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin at $5.19 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday, up by 4 cents from $5.15 per dmtu a week earlier.
Some major miners raised their offer prices for August shipment during the week to June 25, with these elevated prices accepted by buyers over the past week.
Some buyers trimmed the volumes they would normally procure because the new offers exceeded portside prices, leaving thin speculative opportunities. Sellers, on the other hand, showed little interest in lower bids because of the higher prices they could achieve in other markets such as India and Europe, Fastmarkets heard.
"They don't seem desperate to do business with Chinese buyers given the prices they can achieve in other...