[SMM Manganese Ore Weekly Review] Port Inquiry Activity Increases, Manganese Ore Prices Slightly Rise

September 12: Northern ports: Australian lumps at 40.3-40.8 yuan/mtu, up 0.50% WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 34-34.5 yuan/mtu, down 0.58% WoW; Gabon at 39.3-39.9 yuan/mtu, up 0.76% WoW; South African high-iron at 29.4-29.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron at 35.3-35.8 yuan/mtu, up 0.57% WoW.

Southern ports: Australian lumps at 39.8-40.5 yuan/mtu, up 0.50% WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 36.1-36.6 yuan/mtu, down 0.55% WoW; Gabon at 39.7-40.2 yuan/mtu, up 0.76% WoW; South African high-iron at 30.5-31 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron at 36.7-37.4 yuan/mtu, up 0.54% WoW.

Supply side, price-wise, NMT announced its October 2025 manganese ore shipment offers to China: Mn36% (min) South African semi-carbonate lump at $4.05/mtu (flat). Quantity-wise, total manganese ore port arrivals in September are understood to have decreased. Additionally, Comilog's October offers to China are expected to see a shipment reduction of about 30%-50%. The anticipated decrease in future port arrivals has led some ore traders to hold a certain bullish outlook on later prices, resulting in rising offers amid reluctance to sell at low prices.

Demand side, downstream SiMn alloy market inquiry activity slowly rebounded, and most manganese ore transaction prices edged up this week. Compared to last week, SiMn futures fluctuated at relatively high levels this week, weakening the "wait-and-see" sentiment among SiMn alloy plants in both north and south China and slightly reducing the sentiment to drive down prices, leading to a slight advance in manganese ore transaction prices.

Overall, current manganese ore port arrivals slightly decreased, coupled with downstream plants starting a new round of pre-National Day restocking. Ore traders' offers remained firm, and manganese ore prices edged up. The future trend of manganese ore prices still needs to monitor the actual acceptance level of ore prices by downstream users.