Overview of Prices and Supply and Demand in Manganese Market in March

SHANGHAI, Apr 15 (SMM) - In March, the mainstream quotations of imported manganese ore rose further before falling. At the beginning of the month, manganese oxide ore prices continued to rise, with the transaction prices of mainstream Australia ore hitting a high of 65 yuan/mtu. However, the prices rose at a slower pace afterwards and even declined. The prices of mainstream Australia ore stabilised after falling to 60 yuan/mtu, underpinned by high import costs.  The prices of imported manganese ore may hover at highs in April under the support of low port inventory of manganese oxide ore.

The average spot price of EMM in China’s major producing areas tumbled 31% MoM to 27,000 yuan/mt in March, and the average FOB price also fell 30% MoM to $4,389/mt. EMM suppliers lowered their offers in March due to inventory backlog, financial stress, poor demand caused by high EMM prices, as well as expectations of large-scale production resumptions by EMM plants in April. SMM predicts that the EMM prices will remain under downward pressure in April.

In March 2022, the average spot ex-factory price of battery-grade manganese sulphate rose 5.3% month-on-month to 10,830 yuan/mt. The overall purchases by end users were moderate in March. However, downstream purchases may decline in April due to rising costs of other raw materials (nickel salts and cobalt salts).