Manganese market in stalemate

Manganese metal price has been declining to the current level of RMB17,300-17,600/t (USD2,304-2,344/t) ex works. Little business goes on and most participants tend to watch and wait, but sources think the market will not recover soon due to the low demand and large stock.

A Hunan-based producer, who is running at its full capacity of 10,000tpy and holds a stock of 300t on hand, did not sell material recently due to the low bid from buyers. The producer informed few deals were closed at RMB17,300-17,400/t (USD2,304-2,317/t) ex works, but he refused to sell below RMB17,500/t (USD2,330/t) ex works. "Export market also keeps slack with large stockpile in Rotterdam, so the domestic price can only be pulled up by internal demand," commented the source. "Therefore, the market will not recover soon."

The source revealed that the price of sulphate rose by around RMB100/t (USD13/t) from last month to RMB800/t (USD107/t). The manganese ore in their mine was RMB700/t (USD93/t) last month and may rise a little in the coming days, while the market price for manganese ore is RMB700-800/t (USD93-107/t) delivered to plants.

A Guizhou-based producer, with a full capacity of 30,000tpy, revealed that the market is in an unstable state compared with the previous years. The slack market is affected by many factors. The demand from steel mills has not reached the level as expected and most smelters hold large stock. The consumers stay away from the market for lower prices while the smelters also hold back from selling and hope the market to turn better.

According to the source, the market seems to be chaotic and no one can predict when it will warm up. If the supply of raw materials keeps stable and demand moves up, the market is likely to rebound in mid-November or early December. However, it is hard to predict what a level it will reach. Most participants are waiting for a clear situation.

The market will keep in stalemate for a while and may warm up in mid-November. However, participants think the rising scope will not be large and it still needs time to identify the direction.