[SMM Manganese Ore Weekly Review] Strong Costs, Weak Demand Keep Manganese Ore Rangebound

Jun 12:

Northern ports: South African high-iron 31.4-32.1 yuan/mtu, down WoW from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate 37.8-38.3 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; Gabonese 41-41.6 yuan/mtu, down WoW from last Friday; 46% Australian lumps 43.5-44 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; South African medium-iron 37.5-38 yuan/mtu, down WoW from last Friday.

Southern ports: South African high-iron 34.1-34.6 yuan/mtu, down WoW from last Friday; South African semi-carbonate 36.5-37 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; Gabonese 41.5-42 yuan/mtu, down WoW from last Friday; 46% Australian lumps 43.5-44 yuan/mtu, flat WoW from last Friday; South African medium-iron 37-37.5 yuan/mtu, down WoW from last Friday.

The manganese ore market remained steady but stagnant. End-use demand was sluggish, and a wait-and-see sentiment dominated both buying and selling.

Supply side, South32 offered its July 2026 shipment of South African semi-carbonate lumps to China at $4.85/mtu and Australian lumps at $5.25/mt, both down $0.15/mtu. Comilog offered its July 2026 shipment of Gabonese lumps to China at $5.18/mtu, down $0.27/mtu. As high-priced manganese ore arrived at ports, traders’ willingness to sell at discounts weakened. Port spot cargoes were under pressure, but miners still held a firm stance on prices.

Demand side, SiMn futures moved sideways with a weak tone. The market’s wait-and-see sentiment was strong, making it difficult to boost spot purchases. In the spot market, Inner Mongolia faced a tight power supply, leading to production cuts and maintenance at some plants, which reduced their purchase willingness for manganese ore. In Ningxia, producers’ operating rates fluctuated relatively little, and they still maintained a certain level of ore procurement interest. Southern alloy plants generally operated at low rates and purchased only on a rigid, as-needed basis, resulting in a sluggish trading atmosphere. At this stage, SiMn enterprises mostly adopted a hand-to-mouth restocking and small, market-following purchasing strategy. Post-holiday market trading activity was weak, with deals done mainly in scattered small orders, and actual demand for manganese ore was marginally weakening.

Inventory side, inventory built up at Tianjin Port and destocked at Qinzhou Port. Port inventories were at a relatively high level, and high stockpiles suppressed price gains.

Currently, the cost side provided relatively strong support for ore prices, but weak downstream demand from the alloy sector and hand-to-mouth restocking by plants limited the upside room for ore prices. In the short term, port manganese ore prices are expected to move sideways within a narrow range, supported by high costs, with the trend remaining relatively stagnant and both upside and downside room being limited.