Manganese Market Update (May 24, 2012)

According to Metal-Pages, the price of manganese exported from China stayed in the range of $3,050 to $3,100 a tonne, where it has been for much of the year, as traders remained cautious in light of weaker demand from steelmakers.

Lower demand has prompted the country to continue decreasing its production. In March, China produced 905,000 tonnes of silico-manganese (which is used as an alloying and deoxidizing agent in steelmaking). That’s down 14 percent from February.

“The silico-manganese market is expected to be weak, and the silico-manganese market price may drop slightly in June due to weak demand,” said a buyer from Tangshan City, Hebei province.

In all, stocks of manganese ore at China’s ports have declined by more than 150,000 tonnes since late April, to 2.707 million tonnes, including a drop of 0.3 percent, or 8,000 tonnes, since May 11.

However, BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) has raised its manganese prices for shipment to China in June, the second straight month that the company has raised its price. BHP is offering siliceous lump with a minimum of 46 percent manganese content for $5.15 per metric ton unit, up $0.15 from May.

In other news, Indonesia has extended its 20 percent export duty to 21 metal ores and concentrates (including manganese) from the list of 14 it released earlier in May, effective immediately. The Indonesian government wants to extract more revenue from the mining sector and encourage domestic processing.