Manganese Market Update (March 14, 2013)

European manganese prices have remained mostly flat in the past month. Spot prices for high-carbon ferromanganese with 78-percent metal content are currently holding between 860 and 880 euros (US$1,114 to $1,139) per metric ton, while silicomanganese prices range from 890 to 920 euros (US$1,152 to $1,191), according to data from Metal-Pages.

Silicomanganese is mainly used in construction steels, while most ferromanganese goes into flat steels that are used to make automobiles.

Continued weak vehicle production is expected to weigh on European prices in the coming quarter. However, US car sales improved 4 percent in February, Metal-Pages reported. That, along with a rebound in US housing, has helped stabilize prices for high-carbon ferromanganese in the country at $1,090 to $1,140 per long ton this week.

In China, prices for manganese flake are between 13,700 and 13,900 renminbi (US$2,205 to 2,237), up from 13,400 to 13,600 renminbi (US$2,157 to $2,189) a month ago. As Metal-Pages notes, the country’s production is currently running at about a third of capacity, but international demand has picked up since China cancelled an export tax on January 1.