SHANGHAI, May 17 (SMM) - In April, differences among imported manganese ore prices appeared. At the beginning of the month, the prices of different manganese ores changed little. With the arrival of the Labour Day holiday, some alloy factories had certain restocking demand, so the ore prices changed relatively more significantly from mid-April. However, due to the different situations of arrivals of various ores at ports, the prices varied. The supply and demand for Australian lump were balanced due to a small number of arrivals at ports, and the prices increased slightly. As for Gabonese lump, the prices dropped slightly and could hardly rise because of a large number of arrivals at ports.
In April 2022, the average price of EMM in the main producing areas in China dropped sharply by 41% to around 15,900 yuan/mt MoM. The average FOB price decreased by 42% from the previous month to about $2,561/mt.
In April, the operating rates of domestic manganese plants in various regions increased sharply regardless of the Labour Day holiday. However, the downstream demand was limited, so the spot transactions were slack. In May, the poor demand may not improve, therefore, SMM expects that the manganese prices will drop again.
In April 2022, the average ex-factory price of battery-grade manganese sulphate spots dropped by 9.7% from the previous month to 9,779 yuan/mt. The terminals purchased fewer manganese-based raw materials due to the weak consumption. However, manganese sulphate producers did not intend to stop or cut the production. In May, the oversupply may continue, putting pressure on the manganese prices.
