India: MOIL cuts high-grade manganese ore prices by 20%, hikes lower grades for October

• Key global miners reduce offers amid weaker steel, manganese alloys demand
  
  
• Indian silico manganese exports drop on muted trade, declining consumption
  
  

India's leading manganese ore producer, MOIL, has announced new prices, effective 1 October 2024. Manganese ore grades above 44% will face a price cut of 20%, while grades below 44%, including SMGR and fines, will see 5% hike.

Factors impacting MOIL's price revision

• Imported ore prices diminish m-o-m: Monthly average prices of South African manganese ore (Mn37%) declined 5% m-o-m to $3.93/dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) in September 2024 as against $4.15/dmtu in August 2024. Similarly, Australian-origin (46%) manganese ore prices stood at $5.66/dmtu in September as against $7.85/dmtu in August, down by 28% m-o-m, while Gabonese (44%) ore was assessed at $5.3/dmtu, a decrease of 28% m-o-m.
  
  

The overall downtrend can be attributed to key global miners, such as South32, Eramet, UMK, Jupiter, and HBIS, reducing their offers for September 2024 amid weaker steel and manganese alloys demand.

• Silico manganese prices drop in Sep'24: Monthly average prices of Indian silico manganese drifted down by INR 2,300/t ($27/t) in September, with prices of grade 60-14 falling by 3% m-o-m to settle at INR 66,500/t ($794/t) compared to INR 68,800/t ($821/t) exw-Raipur in August, as per data maintained with BigMint. The decline in domestic silico manganese was driven by falling raw material prices and limited demand from domestic steel mills.
  
  

However, prices have seen positive movements in the last two weeks. In week 39 of CY'24, prices were at INR 66,400/t ($792/t) exw-Raipur as against INR 65,600/t ($783/t) in week 38 of CY'24. This upward trend is an outcome of improving steel demand in the domestic and global markets.

• Subdued demand pushes down manganese alloys export offers: Silico manganese (60-14) export prices witnessed a 2% m-o-m decrease of $18/t to reach $812/t FOB in September compared to $830/t in August. Meanwhile, silico manganese (65-16) also declined by 5% ($45/t) m-o-m to $915/t FOB India in September as against $960/t in August.
  
  

Indian silico manganese export offers dropped because of muted trade, driven by declining consumption from key importing regions such as Japan, UAE, Bangladesh, MENA, and Europe. Export volumes witnessed a significant decline of 88% m-o-m for silico manganese (60-14), with the total traded volume going down from 3,000 t in August 2024 to only around 1,370** t in September, as per data collected by BigMint.

• Billet prices stable m-o-m: Domestic billet prices were largely stable, with a marginal drop of INR 300/t ($23/t) to INR 38,200/t ($456/t) exw-Raipur in September, down from INR 38,500/t ($459/t) in August. This decline stemmed from subdued demand and operational challenges in finished and semi-finished steel markets.
  
  

Additionally, prices have seen positive movements in the last two weeks. In week 40 of CY'24, prices were at INR 41,000/t ($489/t) exw-Raipur as against INR 39,700/t ($474/t) in week 38 of CY'24. Increased demand and strong buying activity in both the semi-finished and finished steel segments, along with favorable macroeconomic factors, led to a notable uptick in offerings.

** Note: Changes in silico manganese (60-14) trade volumes for September, updated to 1,370 t which was earlier mentioned as 370 t.