Manganese ore market consolidates with inventory structure showing differences [SMM Manganese Ore Daily Review]

December 23 (SMM) -

Northern ports: South African high-iron ore at 30-30.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate ore at 34-34.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon ore at 42.9-43.5 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Australian lumps at 43.4-43.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron ore at 36.9-37.4 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

Southern ports: South African high-iron ore at 30.3-30.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African semi-carbonate ore at 35.7-36.4 yuan/mtu, down 0.83% WoW; Gabon ore at 41.1-42 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Australian lumps at 41.5-42.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron ore at 37.1-37.6 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.

The domestic manganese ore market consolidated at the beginning of the week, with a tug-of-war between cost support on the supply side and regional divergence on the demand side, and port inventory structures showing differences.

Supply side, overseas manganese mines raised their offers for January 2026 compared with December 2025, strengthening the cost support for China's imported manganese ore in the forward market and leaving little room for ore prices to pull back. Specifically, port arrivals of South African medium-iron manganese ore remained low recently, leading to tight availability of circulating material in the market. There were virtually no actual transactions this week, and traders showed a strong willingness to hold prices firm, keeping prices stable. Offers for other mainstream ore types also showed no signs of loosening, with traders having low willingness to sell at low prices. Overall, the supply side provided solid support for prices.

Demand side, inquiries in both north and south China markets slowed down WoW, but the two regions still showed divergence. In north China, driven by bullish sentiment in the manganese ore market and expectations of production starts in the Inner Mongolia SiMn production hub by month-end, SiMn plants showed relatively active purchasing sentiment for manganese ore, providing effective support for ore demand. However, the SiMn industry remained in the off-season, with some enterprises continuing production cuts and a limited number of enterprises currently in operation. Most alloy plants adopted an on-demand purchasing strategy, resulting in relatively mediocre demand.

Inventory side, Tianjin Port inventories were at a medium level with moderate inventory pressure, providing some support for firm manganese ore prices. Qinzhou Port, affected by a slowdown in port cargo pick-up, saw continuous inventory buildup this month, and the current high inventory level somewhat constrained the rise in manganese ore transaction prices.