SHANGHAI, June 10 (SMM) - China produced 110,000 mt of EMM in May, up 4% MoM and down 13.2% YoY, according to SMM statistics. The combined output in January-May totalled 261,000 mt, down 54% YoY. According to SMM research, the production of EMM increased slightly in May because there were one more natural day in May compared with April. In addition, the EMM output increased only slightly by less than 10,000 mt this month as some enterprises in Guangxi gradually resumed the production while some enterprises in Guizhou and Hunan reduced or suspended the production due to environmental protection, ore and other reasons.

The production of EMM in June is expected to be slightly lower than that in May. The market sees few plans to reduce or suspend the production amid the manganese alliance meeting. The enterprises that are in production in the short term maintain normal operating rates. However, some manufacturers in Hunan and other places are expected to suspend the production in June due to the exhaustion of ore, hence the output may further decline. In addition, due to the high prices of raw materials and the high cost of EMM, the overall market willingness to reduce EMM prices is low. However, due to the current state of oversupply, the short-term EMM market game will be more obvious. But the EMM prices will remain firm in the short term due to the cost support.