Baosteel Releases EMM Bid Price for September, SMM Reports

The average spot prices of EMM in main producing areas fell by 500 yuan/mt to 15,000-17,300 yuan/mt compared with the average prices before the Qingming festival, and the average prices of FOB fell by $100/mt to $2,500-2,800/mt.

As of March 25, the average EMM prices across the major EMM producing regions fell by 3,500 yuan/mt on the week, with mainstream prices ranging between 18,000-22,000 yuan/mt. The overall decline eased in the second half of last week, with a cool atmosphere for supply and demand negotiations.

The overhaul impacted the output of a large smelter in the south by a combined 40,000 mt across its three smelters, which exceeded expectations.

Domestic manganese ore supply grew by 15% in 2018 due to significant inflows of imported resources, even as domestic production shrank further amid environmental pressures.

According to SMM statistics, the total supply of EMM in November was 91,300 mt, a decrease of 5% from the previous month. At the beginning of December, both supply and demand in the manganese market were weak, and the decline in the social inventories slowed down.

The average EMM prices across the three major EMM producing (Songtao in Guizhou, Huayuan in Hunan, and Xiushan in Chongqing) and Guangxi stood at 40,000-40,500 yuan/mt last week, down 1,250 yuan/mt from a week ago.

Western Gold announced on November 8 that it intends to purchase the equities of Akto Kebang Manganese Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Kebang Manganese"), Akto Baiyuanfeng Mining Industry Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Baiyuanfeng"), and Xinjiang Mengxin Tianba Mining Investment Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Mengxin Tianba"), and it will issue shares to qualified investors to raise matching funds.

China’s total exports of wrought manganese, manganese products, unwrought manganese, shredded scrap, and powder stood at 33,100 mt in August, down 4.32% month on month but up 22.73% year on year, according to SMM statistics.

Baosteel and Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer, have signed a memorandum of understanding on September 7 to build a world-class company in Saudi Arabia which will produce heavy plate.

A roundup of headlines across the ferrous sector of the week.