“The problem is the most hazardous carbon emitting [part of manganese alloy production] is the use of coal or coke [reductants],” Kumar said.

But there are several things that can be done to make production greener, he added, with AML planning to secure land in Malaysia to grow new forests to create biocarbon reductants in the form of charcoal and wood chips.

Kumar added that producer AML plans to source 40% of its carbon reductant needs from those new forests for its Pertama ferro-alloys plant in Sarawak, Malaysia to drastically reduce carbon emissions.

Fowkes pointed out that many of the green measures producers can take up have trade-offs, with biocarbon reductants said to be less efficient and therefore more expensive. As well as there being issues with supply.

“There would be no tree left in the world if everyone is using charcoal,” Fowkes said.

Access to green energy was also a large factor in reducing emissions, with producers operating in countries such as Malaysia, Norway, Iceland and Brazil having the advantage of access to hydroelectric power.

Project Blue founder Beddar said “a lot can be done to improve emissions as a whole” but described complete eradication as “impossible”. Project Blue provides consultancy on critical materials for energy transition.

Other methods discussed to achieve greener production included switching diesel-run equipment to electric-operated machinery, waste heat recovery processes and carbon capture.

However, panelists stressed the need for government subsidies to support greener production across the manganese chain.

Emerging EV end market

The experts also discussed expected demand and supply for manganese sulfate for use in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. While manganese sulfate supply is expected to grow significantly in the next two decades, the manganese industry will still be heavily dominated by alloy production for use in steelmaking, Fastmarkets heard.

Panelists also considered the role of India in the supply chain, with all in agreement that India’s steel market will grow and thus demand for manganese alloys and ore, “but not to extent China has grown”.

The post Challenges, opportunities for greener manganese alloy production: IFA 2023 appeared first on Fastmarkets.

According to Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology, “From 2023, manganese ore fot indices will follow the China holiday schedule, and will be published on
the following working day after a China holiday.”

The affected prices were published on Tuesday October 10, with a one-day delay. Fastmarkets’ pricing database has since been updated.

The following indices were published late:

MB-MNO-0005 Manganese ore port index, base 44% Mn, range 42-48%, fot Tianjin China, yuan/dmtu
MB-MNO-0004 Manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin China, yuan/dmtu

These prices are part of the Fastmarkets Ores & Alloys price package.

For more information or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of this price, please contact Tina Tong by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Tina Tong, re Manganese ore.” Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.

The post Delayed publication of manganese ore fot indices appeared first on Fastmarkets.

As LME Week nears, Fastmarkets looks at the impact of four currencies and their interactions over recent months.

Rand movements hit chromium, manganese markets

Manganese and chrome markets both have exposure to the volatile South African rand because South Africa is a key production hub for these materials.

In theory, when a commodity producer’s home currency weakens against the dollar, they earn more in their home currency when they sell in dollar-denominated markets. But there are exceptions, such as when input costs are paid in dollars.

In the non-metallurgical chromite market, sources said in September that rising input costs had been exacerbated by the weakness of the rand against the dollar, with increases in costs in rand terms outpacing increases in sales prices in dollar terms.

But in the metallurgical market, where consistently high prices allow greater margins, the effect of diesel and trucking costs is less pronounced, a chrome ore trader told Fastmarkets, meaning fluctuations in the rand also have less of an effect.

Rand movements also have an influence on trucking, with weakness potentially exacerbating rising diesel prices, since the oil price is denominated in dollars.

“If the market [for manganese ore] was at [higher prices] and the rand was at 19 to the US dollar, then yes, producers would be able to move more by road and still be profitable compared to the current [lower prices] and the same exchange rate,” a manganese producer told Fastmarkets.

On the other hand, when the rand was stronger during July this year, it reduced the margin between trucking costs and product prices when the sales price was already low.

While manganese is more commonly moved by less expensive rail transport on pre-agreed contracts, rand fluctuations and their impact on margins can be a factor in whether miners opt to use road transport, and such decisions affect overall export volumes.

In a market like ferro-chrome where material is often moved by truck and profit margins are also small amid lower product prices, rand fluctuations can have even more impact.

“There’s so much cost pressure that 19 [rand to the dollar] is now the new normal. It’s not giving producers respite; it’s not allowing them to increase their profit. It’s a safety net, but just a tiny bit,” a ferro-chrome trader told Fastmarkets.

“If [chrome ore is at high prices], alloys are not making money, even with the rand at 19.20. We’re waiting for more improvement on the alloy price.”

Tied into this is the ongoing issue of loadshedding – controlled power outages – in South Africa, leading to producers increasing reliance on diesel-powered backup generators, which become less economical to run when the diesel price rises, and if the rand weakens.

“A weaker rand is beneficial for producers, but on the other hand, it results in higher costs [such as diesel]. Coupled with loadshedding, it makes production more costly and complicated,” a chrome ore trader said.

The rand has been so volatile recently that it has been difficult to make longer-term decisions, sources told Fastmarkets.

“Diesel prices went up drastically [in September and October]. Exchange rate movements [could] have alleviated some of the increase,” the manganese ore producer said.

“However, our long-term forecast on the USD/ZAR exchange rate [had] not yet been revised given the constant changes, so the weakening would assist producers, but I don’t think many producers would have implemented too many changes in only one week of rand weakness.”

According to currency exchange website Oanda.com, there were 18.78 rand to the dollar as of September 1, weakening to 19.21 as of September 7, before strengthening to 18.75 as of September 24. As of October 6, the value was 19.45 rand to the dollar.

Yuan movements create buyer caution

Fluctuations in the yuan against the dollar have also affected both manganese and chrome markets, since large volumes of these materials are sold into China.

Seaborne manganese ore and chrome ore buyers in China, for example, would typically benefit from a stronger yuan, since this would decrease import costs in terms of the conversion value, while a weaker yuan would drive their costs up.

The chrome ore market is particularly exposed to the yuan today, sources pointed out, saying buyers face risk and uncertainty because their costs are unknown until they fix their exchange rate conversions.

“In periods where there’s a lot of volatility in the yuan, particularly when it’s weakening, it creates an exchange rate risk for buyers. Let’s say you buy material at [a given price in dollars] but you haven’t fixed your foreign exchange conversion to yuan – until you fix that exchange rate, you have an unknown cost in the domestic Chinese currency,” the chrome ore trader said.

Alongside this, in China’s portside spot market, where port traders sell in yuan, if the chrome ore price stays flat in dollars but the yuan weakens, they will increase their offer price in yuan to compensate, and vice versa.

“Right now, we’re in a situation where there’s so little port stock that everyone has to buy from the forward market anyway and that’s what’s keeping the [chrome ore] price so high. As a result of that, everyone is focused on the exchange rate,” the first chrome ore trader said.

In the manganese market, during September, the depreciation of the yuan also had a direct effect on seaborne prices, pulling them down amid buyside concern over increased import costs.

A Chinese manganese ore trader said at the time that the exchange rate movements had led to dwindling profit margins following purchases of Gabonese ore.

Fastmarkets’ weekly calculation of its chrome ore South Africa UG2/MG concentrates index, cif China was at $303 per tonne on Tuesday October 3, close to the $305 per tonne high for the year to date, set in May.

As of Friday October 6, Fastmarkets’ weekly calculation of its manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, was at $3.60 per dry metric ton unit, versus a high for 2023 so far of $4.59 per dmtu set in February, and the weekly calculation of its manganese ore index, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin was at $4.29 per dmtu, compared with a year-to-date high of $6.14 per dmtu in February.

According to Oanda.com, there were 7.20 yuan to the dollar as of October 6, compared with 7.34 yuan to the dollar on September 6.

Lira fluctuations affect Turkish flat steel prices

The lira has steadily weakened since gaining some strength against the dollar in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of a major rate hike in August from the country’s central bank.

The lira strengthened to 26.31 lira to the dollar on August 26, versus 27.20 lira to the dollar on August 23, the day before the rate hike announcement.

As of October 6, there were 27.56 lira to the dollar, compared with 18.68 lira at the start of 2023.

In July and August, the weakness of the Turkish currency had a dampening effect on demand for domestic flat steel in the country, Fastmarkets reported.

Because flat steel is traded in dollars in Turkey, buyers could not forecast how much they would pay when they received the product about two months after placing an order, a steel service center source said.

“[If] you order about 10,000 tonnes of steel, you need to pay about 200 million lira [and] most companies do not have such [a big] credit limit. In addition, the risk of steel prices decreasing significantly, or the Turkish lira losing value [again, are] always there. As a result, we have reduced the tonnages we order to reduce the risk,” the service center source said at the time.

Also in August, there were rises for domestic rebar and wire rod prices as a result of the weakness of the lira against the dollar.

Turkish mills mostly buy raw materials in US dollars before selling finished steel products to the domestic market in the local currency, meaning a weaker lira may prompt an increase in product prices.

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel reinforcing bar (rebar) domestic, exw Turkey was 19,200-19,700 lira per tonne on August 24, but has since come down slightly, standing at 18,900-19,650 lira per tonne on October 5.

Egypt faces weak pound, lack of foreign currency

Protracted weakness in the Egyptian pound has loomed over the country’s steel industry throughout 2023, causing producers to increase prices for products, including rebar, while they shoulder rising costs for raw materials priced in dollars.

The Egyptian pound was trading at E£30.77 to the dollar on October 6, according to Oanda.com, compared with E£27.67 to the dollar in January and E£24.69 to the dollar in late December 2022.

In the imported billet market in particular, deals have been scarce in Egypt in recent days since buyers have also been constrained by a lack of foreign currency, which Egyptian steelmakers need to pay for raw materials imports.

Egypt had record rebar consumption for 2023 so far in August, but demand for both rebar and billet products has been comparatively low year on year, with buyers choosing local billet over imports because of the struggle to obtain the foreign currencies needed to pay for overseas billet.

Since international trade sanctions were introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Egypt remains one of the few countries without restrictions on Russian steel billet imports, but deals have been scarce because of Egypt’s shortage of foreign currencies.

In addition, after announcing plans to impose export duties on steel from October 1, Russian mills moved to raise offer prices, but the Egyptian market would not accept the higher levels because of the shortage.

As a result, Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for steel billet import, cfr main port Egypt was $515-520 per tonne on September 28, down 2.36% from $520-540 per tonne on September 21, although the price had widened slightly as of the most recent assessment on October 5, to $510-530 per tonne.

The post Currency volatility looms large over alloys, steel markets: LME Week appeared first on Fastmarkets.

The following indices were published late:
MB-MNO-0001 Manganese ore index, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin, $/dmtu
MB-MNO-0002 Manganese ore index, 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, $/dmtu
MB-MNO-0003 Manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, $/dmtu

These prices are a part of the Fastmarkets Ores & Alloys Physical Price package.

For more information or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price, please contact Holly Chant by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Holly Chant, re Manganese ore.” Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.

The post Delayed publication of manganese ore seaborne prices appeared first on Fastmarkets.

In 2023, the freight cocktail causing the nasty taste in market participants’ mouths has been created by a combination of high oil costs, record Brazilian grain exports and an unprecedented drought in the Panama Canal.

The Baltic Exchange’s main dry bulk sea freight index jumped to its highest level in over 11 months on Tuesday October 3 due to strong demand for capesize ships, while the exchange’s capesize index reached a high not seen in more than nine months on the same day.

Fastmarkets’ average freight rate for a 52,000-tonne vessel sailing from Port Elizabeth in South Africa to Tianjin port in China, with one stop in between, was $29.30 per tonne on September 29, unchanged week on week but up by $6.20 per tonne from $23.10 per tonne on August 4.

Costs for shipping a 20ft container of scrap metal from the United Kingdom with a well-known line rose by $100 per container to the west coast of India in October and by $150 per box to the south and southeast of India, according to a major UK-based exporter source. A second UK-based exporter said their costs from the UK to India rose by $125 per container for October sailing – equivalent to around $5-6 per tonne of ferrous or non-ferrous scrap.

Freight rates for handysize vessels carrying 30,000-32,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap from the US West Coast to Bangladesh were heard around $59-60 per tonne this month, up from $51-52 per tonne two months prior. A Singapore-based trader said they had seen freight increases of “generally 10-20%” in October on the routes they track, which includes trade in bulk from Japan to East Asia.

On the East Coast-Turkey handysize route, ocean freight rates were heard at $35-38 per tonne on Wednesday October 4, which was up sharply from $32-33 per tonne in early September and $22-24 per tonne in August. But the rates were down from above $40 per tonne last week, according to market sources.

The slight decrease in bulk ocean freight rates in the last week follows a drop in oil prices from their peak levels in late September. It begs the question of whether this year’s spike in freight rates in some areas will be short-lived or if it will continue in the coming weeks.

And not all popular scrap trade routes have increased. The Australia-Bangladesh scrap route in containers was heard to be stable with even some downward pressure, due to a lack of container trade coming out of China around Golden Week holidays.

Market impact

Manganese ore producers moving material from South Africa to China said higher freight rates this summer have put miners under further cost pressures, with high supply of the product pushing down ore prices in recent months and adding to already tight profit margins.

However, one manganese ore producer said the elevated freight rates had supported a slight upward movement in market levels in the past two weeks by increasing the cost of production for the material. They added that in late September they had even pulled an offer for a vessel sailing the following month due to costly freight rates.

Fastmarkets’ weekly manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin was calculated at $3.58 per dmtu on September 29, up 3 cents per dmtu from $3.55 per dmtu on two weeks earlier.

In ferrous scrap, the rising freight costs mean that selling material on longer-haul routes, such as from the UK to Bangladesh, is becoming more difficult.

Due to the higher freight costs, transactions from the UK to Bangladesh now require a premium of at least $25-28 per tonne over the CIF India scrap price for UK material, according to an Indian seller source. This would make selling material to Bangladesh less likely, the source said.

With the higher freight costs in addition to poor demand in Bangladesh and Pakistan, India has been inundated with offers for containerized scrap over the last few weeks, sources told Fastmarkets, pushing down prices in that market.

Fastmarkets’ calculation of the containerized steel scrap shredded index, import, cfr Nhava Sheva, India was $421.25 per tonne on Tuesday, compared with $425.56 per tonne one week before and $434.50 per tonne two weeks before.

These decreases in export prices, in addition to increased freight costs, have squeezed scrap generators from regions like the UK, meaning there are expectations of lower prices for shredder feed soon, a major UK scrap processor said on Friday September 29.

“[Light iron shredder feed] should have come down with increased freight rates in containers and UK steelworks indicating drops [for the monthly scrap purchase market in] October, however volume is limited and this is keeping prices artificially high,” the processor said.

“The market will need a large downward price correction at some point once stability returns, as [UK light iron] is grossly overpriced at the upper end of the range,” the source added.

Oil costs

Freight rate increases have been underpinned by the rise in oil costs following supply cuts from major producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, according to shipbrokers Intermodel.

Brent Crude oil futures rose considerably in recent months, from $71.17 per barrel on June 12 to $93.50 on September 27. Since then, there has been a correction in prices, with the benchmark indicator down to $87.71 per barrel at the end of trading on October 4.

Supply reductions announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia are expected to continue shaping oil prices throughout the year but “the prospect of oil reaching the $100 per barrel mark may be short-lived amidst the current supply constraints and the fragile state of the overall economic environment,” Intermodal said on October 3.

Scrap market participants surveyed by Fastmarkets on Thursday October 5, expected oil prices to remain elevated, and for this to be a major reason for freight rates to remain higher than earlier in the year.

“The only variable in our trading right now is container freight, and we think it will go up again in November. This is due to the oil cost but also because, generally, after the Diwali festival period in India, there is lots of buying activity,” the major UK-based scrap exporter said on Thursday.

Panama Canal drought

Drought in the Panama Canal has also added to issues faced by market participants this summer, raising freight costs further.

An extended dry season over the summer and an El Nino weather event have led to water levels in Gatun Lake, which provides vital freshwater for the country of Panama, as well as the 80 kilometer-long canal, reaching lows not seen since 2016.

Since each vessel transiting the waterway displaces millions of gallons of water from the lake, the canal authority says it has been implementing procedures to save water, including the reduction of the number of vessels passing through the canal.

These measures to manage operations and save water in the Panama Canal led to “vessel congestion, [meaning] less vessels in the market as they are stuck in the canal and can’t deliver goods or offload them and be back in the market to load,” a freight source told Fastmarkets.

In September, the average days in queue for a northbound vessel without a reservation peaked at seven days, with a maximum wait of 15.8 days on September 19. Southbound September vessels peaked at an average of seven days, with a maximum of 13.3 days on September 29.

Non-booked Northbound vessels heading towards the Atlantic Ocean had an average waiting time of three days on October 4, while non-booked Southbound vessels en route to the Pacific Ocean had wait times of 5.6 days.

While canal authorities have announced that the number of vessels waiting is now below last year’s level at the same time, Fastmarkets has heard from market participants that the disruption has led to some vessels taking alternate routes with longer lead times to avoid the canal entirely. This can lead to congestion popping up at other places in the world.

Measures will be maintained into and throughout 2024, “unless weather conditions change significantly from current forecasts,” with vessels without reservations mainly impacted, according to the waterway’s authorities.

Soybean exports

Another factor contributing to heightened freight rates due to lesser availability of vessels has been the high demand for Brazilian grain exports, leading to a greater number of vessels needed to fulfill demand.

Soybean exports from Brazil reached 6.4 million tonnes in September, while corn shipments totaled 8.7 million tonnes, both record volumes from the country in that month, Fastmarkets reported on October 3.

Soybean shipments have risen sharply amid huge demand from China and a drought in Argentina, meaning the South American nation has had to supplement its crushing demand with Brazil-origin imports.

Soybean shipments per working day averaged 383,990 tonnes in August, up 48.5% year on year, and corn exports averaged 373,204 tonnes per working day in the same month, up 15.2% from 323,743 tonnes the year before.

Demand for the grain is expected to remain high until the end of the year, with a record number of exports forecast by consultancy firms.

Declan Conway in Galway, Cem Turken in Mugla, and Amy Hinton in Pittsburgh, contributed to this story.

Follow all the latest LME Week insights by visiting our dedicated content hub.

The post Rising freight costs causing headaches for metal firms again, but for how long? LME Week appeared first on Fastmarkets.

Seaborne

Both higher-grade and lower-grade manganese ore seaborne indices fell after a sharp depreciation of China’s currency against the US dollar and with a possible increment of port inventories expected at the end of September, Fastmarkets heard.

Fastmarkets’ manganese ore index, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin was calculated at $4.33 per dry metric tonne unit (dmtu) on Friday, a fall of 3 cents from $4.36 per dmtu one week prior.

Buyside contacts expressed concerns about increased import costs after the yuan devalued sharply against the dollar.

One Chinese manganese ore trader said the exchange rate movements had led to dwindling profit margins following purchases of Gabonese ore.

The exchange rate was 7.34 yuan to $1 on September 11, compared with 7.20 yuan to $1 on September 4, with the yuan depreciating by 2% in one week, according to Oanda.com.

The expected arrivals of huge volumes of Gabonese ore at the end of September may add to supply pressures, industry participants said.

Fastmarkets’ weekly manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin was calculated at $3.54 per dmtu on Friday, a fall of 2 cents from $3.56 per dmtu one week prior.

Meanwhile, the depreciation of the South African rand mitigated the impact of “drastic” diesel price rises which have added to trucking costs in South Africa, a producer source told Fastmarkets.

But the source added that producers may wait to implement changes to trucking rates based on the weaker rand, due to the volatility of exchange rate movements in recent weeks.

The rand was valued at 19.20 rand to $1 on Friday, depreciating by 2.13% from 18.80 rand to $1 a week earlier.

Combined port inventories of manganese ore at Qinzhou and Tianjin ports stood at 5.48-5.75 million tonnes on Monday September 11, compared with 5.60-5.87 million tonnes on previous Monday, according to Fastmarkets’ data collection.

“The port inventories remain high. Even the news of manganese ore supplier WMA’s plan to cut exports from October work little in pushing up market confidence,” a second Chinese manganese ore trader said.

Freight rates increased during the week due to several factors, including a drought in the Panama Canal and high demand for grains shipments from Brazil, tightening the global supply of vessels.

Fastmarkets’ manganese ore index, 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth was calculated at $2.74 per dmtu on Friday, a week-on-week drop of 5 cents from $2.79 per dmtu.

Portside

Portside prices of manganese ore in China rose slightly on Friday on improved sentiment among buyers and sellers, after Chinese stimulus policies for the property market were released and smelters restocked for the Golden Week holiday in the nation (September 29-October 6).

Fastmarkets’ calculation of the manganese ore port index, base 44% Mn, range 42-48%, fot Tianjin China was 38.50 yuan ($5.33) per dmtu on Friday, up by 0.10 yuan from 38.40 yuan per dmtu on September 1.

Fastmarkets’ weekly low-grade manganese ore port index, base 37% Mn, range 35-39%, fot Tianjin China stood at 31.00 yuan per dmtu on the same day, up by 0.20 yuan from 30.80 yuan per dmtu previously.

Beijing and Shanghai lowered the downpayment ratios to 35% for first house buyers in the cities on September 1, following the same policies announced in Shenzhen and Guangzhou on August 30.

“The release of such policy fired liquidity in [China’s] property market, which drove up futures markets of commodities and enhanced market confidence,” a Chinese manganese ore trader source at Tianjin port told Fastmarkets.

Sellers of manganese ore at ports raised the prices by 0.20 yuan per dmtu as a result, the trader source added.

Manganese alloy smelters broadly accepted the rise due to their restocking needs for the upcoming long holiday.

“It is time for smelters to replenish,” another port seller source said. “I can feel the deals increase and port inventories decrease a little bit.”

The post Chinese seaborne manganese ore prices soften on depreciation of yuan appeared first on Fastmarkets.

The lower-grade ore market ticked higher last week, with the spread between higher-grade and semi-carbonated prices narrowing over that time.

Fastmarkets’ weekly calculation for its manganese ore index 37% Mn, cif Tianjin was $3.60 per dmtu on August 4, up by 2 cents over the index on July 28, while it was $1.01 per dmtu lower than the year-to-date peak of $4.59 per dmtu on February 10.

One of the biggest factors contributing to falling prices has been the high supply of ore material, market participants said.

Port inventory falls but supply pressure remains

Manganese ore port inventories in China have been dropping in recent weeks amid increased downstream production rates. Still, they remain high and continue to exert supply pressure, market participants said.

According to Fastmarkets, combined port inventories of manganese ore at Qinzhou and Tianjin ports were 5.67-5.74 million tonnes on Monday, August 7 with a midpoint of 5.70 million tonnes compared with 5.92-6.13 million tonnes a week earlier.

While port inventories have dropped slightly in recent weeks, they have remained above 6 million tonnes at the midpoint for most of the year.

One factor contributing to the recent stock reduction is increased alloy production rates.

“Chinese manganese alloy producers, especially northern ones, are making a profit margin, and they are running at a high-capacity utilization rate,” a Chinese manganese ore trader source said, “Even as manganese ore imports [remain] high, the port inventory does not pile up [further].”

According to China customs data, the country imported a combined 15.38 million tonnes of manganese ore in the first six months of 2023, up by 9.03% from imports in the first half of 2022.

Monthly silicon-manganese production in China is around 930,000-980,000 tonnes, with most of the output from northern producers – these benefit from being located close to Tianjin port where manganese ore is imported.

These northern producers also have the advantage of using cheaper coal-fueled electricity which lessens production cost pressures, according to industry participants.

But manganese ore supply remains lofty. Current port inventories are large enough to support around three months of alloy production, based on the industry standard of 2 tonnes of manganese ore for 1 tonne of silicon-manganese production.

In addition to major traditional suppliers such as Australian, South African and Gabonese manganese ore miners, there are other competitors in the market.

“Brazilian manganese ore shipments to China increase sharply this year, and it adds competition to manganese ore options, especially high-grade ore material,” a second trader source from China told Fastmarkets.

In the second quarter of 2023, China’s imports of Brazilian manganese ore soared.

China still attractive to international miners in H2

In the remaining five months of 2023, there are still positive signals for manganese ore demand in China, which may continue to attract supply, sources said.

“Smelters will keep production rates high because of their profit margins,” a second trader added. “In other words, they need high supply of manganese ore.”

This corroborates Fastmarkets analyst views: “Fastmarkets expects some increase in manganese ore prices on a CIF Tianjin basis in the fourth quarter on the back of higher alloy demand and prices,” Fastmarkets analyst Harry Riley-Gould said.

As well, fresh macroeconomic policies in China – Beijing published these late in July – have improved sentiment due to the potential rise in demand for downstream steel products, which could translate into increased demand for manganese alloy products and manganese ore.

But downside risks remain considerable due to the steady growth of Gabonese supply in recent years, as well as uncertain downstream markets in China, according to Riley-Gould.

“We do not expect a return to price levels of the first quarter of the year in the absence of fresh supply-chain disruptions,” Riley-Gould added.

Volumes of higher-grade ore likely to increase

Miner sources expect supply to grow, particularly for higher-grade material sourced from Gabon, they also told Fastmarkets.

Transported volumes of higher-grade Gabonese ore are likely to increase if producer targets are hit in the latter half of the year.

“There is a lot more expected to come in H2 relative to H1,” an ore trader said.

“High-grade producers will push volumes in the second half of the year, according to their [financial] reports,” a supplier source said.

Major Gabonese high-grade ore supplier Eramet is targeting 7 million tonnes in transported ore volumes this year, according to the company’s 2023 interim financial report published on July 26.

Eramet’s transported ore volumes in the first half were 2.8 million tonnes, down by 27% due to the “suspension in traffic” in January following a landslide in Gabon in December 2022 and a rail derailment in early April, it said.

Therefore, the company plans to ship 4.2 million tonnes of ore in the second half of the year, an increase of 50% from the first half.

Market participants pointed out that manganese ore producers in West Africa and South Africa are frequently hit by logistical issues that can limit volumes.

Yet despite delays in rail and shipping slot allocations in the first half of 2023, South African ore producers have still “managed to move material at decent volumes,” sell-side sources said.

Sources estimated that 1.9 million tonnes of lower-grade material was shipped out of South Africa in June and again in July.

The recent strengthening of the rand against the dollar has led to an increase in trucking costs, which has resulted in a decrease in trucking rates in South Africa, producers said.

Around 600,000 of ore can be transported by truck each month, Fastmarkets understands, but the actual amount is dependent on cost, with trucking a more expensive yet more flexible alternative to rail.

The healthy volumes coming out of South Africa were evident in Jupiter Mines’ Quarterly Activities Report released on July 31.

“Land logistics volumes were in line with expectations for the quarter, with South African rail volumes being higher than planned,” it said.

Jupiter Mines has a 49.9% beneficial interest in Tshipi, the company that operates the Tshipi Manganese Mine in the Kalahari basin in South Africa.

In addition, South32, another major participant in the manganese mining industry and which extracts higher-grade material out of Australia and lower-grade material out of South Africa, said it achieved annual production records in its quarterly June 2023 report released on July 23.

Its manganese production increased by 4% in its 2023 financial year ended on June 30, the company said.

The post High ore supply weighs on CIF China manganese prices but market looks to Q4 smelter demand appeared first on Fastmarkets.

The following prices were published late:

Manganese ore seaborne prices
MB-MNO-0001 Manganese ore index, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin, $/dmtu
MB-MNO-0002 Manganese ore index, 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, $/dmtu
MB-MNO-0003 Manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, $/dmtu

Turkish steel scrap import prices
MB-STE-0416 HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) North Europe origin US $ per tonne CFR Turkey
MB-STE-0417 HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix) United States origin US $ per tonne CFR Turkey
MB-STE-0894 Steel scrap, HMS 1&2 (80:20 mix), month-to-date deal-weighted average, North Europe origin, cfr Turkey, $/tonne

Stainless steel prices in Europe
MB-STS-0281 Stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 transaction domestic, delivered North Europe, €/tonne
MB-STS-0001 Stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 316 2mm alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, €/tonne
MB-STS-0002 Stainless steel cold-rolled sheet base price 316 2mm domestic, delivered Europe, €/tonne
MB-STS-0004 Stainless steel bright bar grade 304 alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, €/tonne
MB-STS-0005 Stainless steel bright bar grade 304 base price domestic, delivered Europe,€/tonne
MB-STS-0006 Stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 alloy surcharge domestic, Europe, €/tonne
MB-STS-0007 Stainless steel cold-rolled sheet 2mm grade 304 base price domestic, delivered Northern Europe, €/tonne

European steel slab imports
MB-STE-0896 Steel slab import, cif Italy, $/tonne

Stainless steel scrap prices in Europe and the UK
MB-STS-0013 Stainless steel scrap 12-13% Cr solids domestic, delivered merchants UK, £/tonne
MB-STS-0014 Stainless steel scrap 16-17% Cr solids domestic, delivered merchants UK, £/tonne
MB-STS-0010 Stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK, £/tonne
MB-STS-0011 Stainless steel scrap 18/8 turnings domestic, delivered merchants UK, £/tonne
MB-STS-0259 Stainless steel scrap 316 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK, £/tonne
MB-STS-0260 Stainless steel scrap 316 turnings domestic, delivered merchants UK, £/tonne
MB-STS-0008 Stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids import, cif main European port, €/tonne
MB-STS-0009 Stainless steel scrap 18/8 turnings import, cif main European port, €/tonne
MB-STS-0261 Stainless steel scrap 316 solids import, cif main port Europe, €/tonne
MB-STS-0262 Stainless steel scrap 316 turnings import, cif main port Europe, €/tonne

Indian steel prices
MB-IRO-0023 Direct reduced iron domestic, exw India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0434 Steel hot-dipped galvanized coil domestic, ex-whse India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0437 Steel heavy plate domestic, ex-whse India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0444 Steel hot-rolled coil import, cfr main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0433 Steel billet domestic, exw India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0436 Steel hot-rolled coil domestic, ex-whse India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0439 Steel heavy plate 12-40mm export, fob main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0440 Steel billet export, fob main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0443 Steel cold-rolled coil import, cfr main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0446 Steel heavy plate 10-40mm import, cfr main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0435 Steel cold-rolled coil domestic, ex-whse India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0438 Steel rebar domestic, exw India, rupees/tonne
MB-STE-0442 Steel hot-rolled coil (commodity) export, fob main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0445 Steel hot-rolled coil (CR grade) import, cfr main port India, $/tonne
MB-STE-0441 Steel hot-dipped galvanized coil export, fob main port India, $/tonne

For more information or to provide feedback on the delayed publication of this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to this price, please contact Janie Davies by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading: “FAO: Janie Davies: Delayed publication of several Fastmarkets steel, scrap and manganese ore prices.”

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/methodology.

The post Delayed publication of several Fastmarkets steel, scrap and manganese ore prices appeared first on Fastmarkets.

The names of all three prices have also been brought into line with Fastmarkets’ standard naming convention.

The specifications are now as follows:

MB-MNO-0003 Manganese ore index, 37% Mn, cif Tianjin, $ per dmtu
Quality: 5.5-75mm lump. Manganese base 37%, range 35-39%; iron base 5%, max 10%; silica base 5.5%, max 12%; phosphorus base 0.025%, max 0.16%; alumina base 0.2%, max 2%; moisture base 4%, max 12%
Quantity: Min 5,000 tonnes
Location: CIF Tianjin (other mainland seaports normalized)
Timing: Within nine weeks
Unit: US$ per dry metric tonne unit
Payment terms: Cash or LC on sight
Publication: Friday 3pm, London

MB-MNO-0002 Manganese ore index, 37% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth, $ per dmtu
Quality: 5.5-75mm lump. Manganese base 37%, range 35-39%; iron base 5%, max 10%; silica base 5.5%, max 12%; phosphorus base 0.025%, max 0.16%; alumina base 0.2%, max 2%; moisture base 4%, max 12%
Quantity: 5,000 tonnes
Location: FOB Port Elizabeth (South Africa)
Timing: Within nine weeks
Unit: US$ per dry metric tonne unit
Payment terms: Cash or LC on sight
Publication: Friday 3pm, London.

MB-MNO-0001 Manganese ore index, 44% Mn, cif Tianjin, $ per dmtu
Quality: 5.5-75mm lump. Manganese base 44%, range 42-48%; iron base 5%, max 16%; silica base 10%, max 15%; phosphorus base 0.10%, max 0.16%; alumina base 5%, max 14%; moisture base 4%, max 12%
Quantity: Min 5,000 tonnes
Location: CIF Tianjin, China (normalized for any Chinese mainland sea port)
Timing: Within nine weeks
Unit: US$ per dry metric tonne unit
Payment: Cash or LC on sight
Publication: Friday 3pm, London

To provide feedback on these indices, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these indices, please contact Jon Stibbs and Tina Tong by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “FAO: Jon Stibbs and Tina Tong re: manganese ore.”

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology

The post Amendment to Fastmarkets’ seaborne manganese ore specifications appeared first on Fastmarkets.

The Shanghai bonded stocks price is part of Fastmarkets’ Base Metals prices package, the chrome and manganese ore prices are part of the Ores & Alloys prices package.

For more information, or to provide feedback on this correction notice, or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to these prices, please contact us by email at: pricing@fastmarkets.com.

To see all Fastmarkets’ pricing methodology and specification documents, go to https://www.fastmarkets.com/about-us/methodology.

The post Correction to copper bonded stocks, manganese and chrome ore inventories publication date appeared first on Fastmarkets.