Seaborne low-grade manganese ore prices on Friday March 26 lost all of the gains made earlier in the month after some miners reduced their offer prices amid strong resistance from buyers.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, fell by 17 cents per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on March 26 to $4.69 per dmtu.
The corresponding index for
manganese ore 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, went down by 16 cents per dmtu to $3.43 per dmtu on the same day.
The average of the freight rates for this route submitted to Fastmarkets eased week-on-week to $45.80 per tonne from $49.50 per tonne, following an increase of more than 60% from mid-February to late March.
Fastmarkets' index for
manganese ore 44% Mn, cif Tianjin, went down by 5 cents per dmtu on Friday to $5.32 per dmtu.
A large gap remained between port and seaborne offers with buyers citing ample availability and low prices at Chinese ports, and miners pointing to the soaring freight rates over recent weeks that have pushed their costs up.
While...