Seaborne prices of high- and low-grade manganese ore in China continued to strengthen during the week ended December 13 amid resumed buying interest, market sources said.
Fastmarkets'
manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, rose by 5 cents week on week to $3.75 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on December 13.
Fastmarkets' index for
manganese ore, 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, also climbed by 5 cents week on week to $3.04 per dmtu.
Some
alloy smelters, who failed to secure any volumes at $3.70 per dmtu the previous week, accepted a slightly higher price, according to market sources.
Producers lowered the volumes for sale for January delivery, which made it difficult to find material.
"Demand for January is still strong, and the small volumes on offer have taken everyone by surprise," a producer said.
Tighter availability has...