India: Manganese ore import prices inch up w-o-w on news of production cuts

• Prices for manganese ore are gradually rising as inventories drops in spot market
  
  
• UMK temporarily ceased offering its ore products and stopped producing manganese ore
  
  

Imported manganese ore offerings inched up by $0.07/dmtu (2%) w-o-w. Lumps Mn 37% grade from South Africa remained up by $0.1/dmtu w-o-w to $3.75/dmtu. Gabonese high-grade manganese ore 44% emerged at $4.35/dmtu. Mn 46% up $0.05/dmtu w-o-w, (lumps of Australian origin) prices stood at $4.6 /dmtu CNF Vizag, India.

UMK production cut: United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK), the largest manganese ore producer in the world, declared that it will no longer be producing manganese ore or selling its ore products. Declining market circumstances are the cause of the output decline. Malcolm Curro, the CEO, stated that the company will resume normalized outputs once the market improves.

Recovery in manganese prices amid reducing spot inventory: This week saw a minor increase in the market for manganese ore and a slight improvement in trading conditions. Manganese prices have been strengthened by an increase in booking volumes due to a decline in mills' stock. Freight rates anticipated to continue to rise in the upcoming weeks, and there are likely to in creasing in bulk booking of ore. This upward trend in manganese ore is anticipated to last until the end of January.

Import cargo arrivals fall 50% w-o-w- India has witnessed a 50% decline in manganese ore (Mn37%, Mn44%, and Mn46%) weekly import shipments, reaching 53,310 t between 27 December 2023-1 January 2024, compared to the previous week's 123,199 t. This decrease was caused by a temporary decline in manganese demand in the domestic region due to continuous fluctuations in steel prices.

• Delayed shipments amid Red Sea attack: Red Sea attacks have caused severe disruptions to international shipping, forcing some companies to halt transits through the Red Sea and substitute longer, more expensive shipments, according to sources. Buyers have postponed booking quantities of the lower-grade South African material. Resulted imported volumes down.
  
  
• Production cut in manganese alloys: The amount of manganese ore imported decreased as a result of large silico manganese manufacturing plants in Vizag temporarily reducing their output and one of the major producers of manganese alloys temporarily suspending operations. Furthermore, the local market has seen a decline in the demand for manganese alloys, and the price of the material has not been much impacted by the swings in steel bidding that occurred last week.