Soaring freight costs push European manganese flake prices to 9-month high

Soaring shipping costs have continued to push the manganese flake market up, with European prices jumping by more than 9% this past week to a nine-month high.

Fastmarkets' assessment for manganese 99.7% electrolytic manganese flake, in-whs Rotterdam was at $1,800-1,850 per tonne on Friday November 20, up by 3% from the mid-week assessment of $1,750-1,795 per tonne and by 9.3% from $1,620-1,720 per tonne on November 13 due to increased spot market activity.
Prices now stand at their highest level since early March, when they were at $1,800-1,870 per tonne, but still trail the year-to-date high of $2,260-2,300 per tonne in mid-February by nearly 20%.
The European market had been relatively stable in the second half of the year, but prices started to rise last week amid inventory restocking by consumers and traders and soaring shipping costs.

"Freight rates are reaching record highs," a trader in Europe said. "With shipping costs this high, moving the material is now more...

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