Peak Season Demand Falls Short of Expectations, Manganese Ore Transactions Remain Firm and Stable [SMM Manganese Ore Daily Review]

September 23: Northern ports: Australian lumps 40.6-41.1 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate 34.2-34.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon 39.6-40.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African high-iron 29.4-29.9 yuan/mtu, up 0.67% WoW; South African medium-iron 35.3-35.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

Southern ports: Australian lumps 40.3-41 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate 36.3-36.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon 40.2-40.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African high-iron 30.5-31 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron 36.7-37.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

Recently, the manganese ore market operated firmly, with ore prices temporarily stable this week amid a standoff between miners refusing to budge on prices and downstream alloy plants driving down prices.

Demand side, downstream alloy plants maintained just-in-time procurement. On one hand, pre-National Day holiday ore stockpiling by downstream players fell short of expectations, with relatively weak purchase demand from plants in both north and south China; on the other hand, the recent typhoon had a relatively small impact on Qinzhou Port, so downstream alloy plants showed no panic buying sentiment, and port ore inquiries were mediocre.

Macro side, earlier this month there were high expectations for a US Fed interest rate cut and the Yinchuan manganese conference over the weekend, but the actual outcomes fell short, with macro news providing limited support and insufficient upward momentum for manganese ore.

Overall, the manganese ore market operated firmly recently with prices temporarily stable, and future ore price trends will depend on downstream demand absorption.