Seaborne manganese ore prices rose again in the week to Friday February 26, after some suppliers raised offer prices due to increasing freight costs, the stronger South African rand and expectations of lower South African exports in the coming weeks.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin rose by $0.12 week on week to $4.77 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday, up from $4.65 per dmtu a week earlier.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth index dropped further by $0.06 week on week to $3.55 per dmtu from $3.61 per dmtu on the same day.
The continual decline in the index reflects the rise in the average freight cost, which is deducted from the cif price to calculate the fob index.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore 44% Mn, cif Tianjin rose by $0.05 week on week to $5.13 per dmtu on February 26 from $5.08 per dmtu previously.
Freight rates rose by 33% between January 29 and February 26 amid increased demand for vessels and competition for freight capacity from other commodities.
But many buyers showed reluctance to...