Indian miners hike manganese ore offers m-o-m for Jun'24

In response to MOIL's's price announcements, other Indian manganese ore miners have also hiked their offers of all grades of manganese ore.

India's state-owned mining company, MOIL, declared a manganese ore price hike starting June 2024. Manganese grades above 44% surged by 35% m-o-m, while those below 44% increased by 30%, as per BigMint. MOIL had previously raised offers by up to 40% for May 2024 deliveries, marking notable price fluctuations in the manganese market.

Price offers from key mining regions:

Madhya Pradesh: The state witnesses a significant rise in its manganese ore offers which went hand-in-hand with MOIL's price hike. Grades above 44% ticked up by 27%, while the grades below that were upscaled by 7-30% for various grades of manganese ore. With the improved domestic demand and shortage of the ore in the global market miners kept their offers high for this month also.

A key miner mentioned, "After a consecutive hike in manganese ore offers from the last 2-3 months, now we are anticipating a price stability for July 2024. The global manganese ore market faces a confluence of challenges: a scarcity of high-grade ore, supply chain delays, and dwindling spot inventories. This confluence has triggered a surge in demand for domestically sourced manganese ore in India, creating a lucrative opportunity for small and medium-scale miners. These domestic producers are well-positioned to capitalise on the current market dynamics".

Odisha: Most of the miners from the state has also increased their manganese ore offers for grades between 30-32% by 10% m-o-m. For grades below 30%, offers climbed up by 14% which were also well versed with the MOIL's price announcements.

"Key miners in India foresee possible price fluctuations for manganese ore next month. They believe the current surge has reached its peak, and further increases could trigger a market correction harming the ferroalloys industry. This highlights the need for price stability to ensure long-term growth for both miners and producers."

Vizag: Lower grades of manganese ore are usually offered from this state, and for this month offers for grades below 25% remained largely stable with slight increase by 3%, which was questionable as it was not in support with MOIL's price announcements which was generally a sharp hike for lower grades by 30%.

One of the key miner said, "This time we have not scaled up the prices because there was an unacceptance of higher prices in the Vizag market, and we are compelled to keeping the prices in this range only for the next month."

Factors behind rise in manganese ore prices:

Imported manganese ore prices rise 35% m-o-m in May: Indian manganese ore imports experienced a 35% m-o-m price surge in May 2024, driven by overseas suppliers raising rates amidst supply constraints and a production halt by a major Australian miner. This tightening of supply escalated immediate delivery costs to India, impacting manganese alloy production expenses. Close monitoring of global supply and producers' actions is essential for forecasting price trends.

However, caution prevails due to high production costs and narrow margins, which dampen buying activities. Market watchers are closely scrutinising downstream demand to gauge if increased imports signify a lasting market shift.

Indian silico manganese prices rise: In May 2024, the domestic silico manganese market witnessed a substantial price rise m-o-m by 25% in the key producing regions of Raipur, Durgapur and Vishakhapatnam. Panic buying, fuelled by escalating manganese ore prices in both domestic and global markets, had propelled offers higher, indicative of heightened market uncertainty and demand pressures.

The surge underscored the market's sensitivity to supply chain disruptions and global price trends. However, the rise of prices in the domestic market for silico manganese have come to a halt, which are now anticipated to get stabilised due to the hesitance in acceptance of higher offers.

Outlook

As per BigMint's analysis, prices of manganese ore are forecasted to witness little fluctuation for July, 2024 offers, which would stand at stable levels as further rise might result into a market crash for the ferro alloys industry.

Meanwhile, proactive monitoring of the global and domestic market and strategic decision-making remain crucial for stakeholders for navigating these volatile conditions.