September 9 news: Northern ports: Australian lumps at 40.1-40.6 yuan/mtu, down 0.49% WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 34.2-34.7 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon at 39-39.6 yuan/mtu, down 0.51% WoW; South African high-iron at 29.4-29.9 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron at 35.1-35.6 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.
Southern ports: Australian lumps at 39.6-40.3 yuan/mtu, down 0.50% WoW; South African semi-carbonate at 36.3-36.8 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; Gabon at 39.4-39.9 yuan/mtu, down 0.50% WoW; South African high-iron at 30.5-31 yuan/mtu, flat WoW; South African medium-iron at 36.5-37.2 yuan/mtu, flat WoW.
Supply side, South32's October 2025 offer for South African semi-carbonate lumps to China stood at $4.1/mtu (up $0.05), while Australian lumps were offered at $4.5/mtu (up $0.05). In terms of volume, Comilog's October shipments to China are expected to decrease by 30%-50%. The combination of rising forward offers and reduced shipment volumes has strengthened miners' bullish expectations for future prices, leading to reluctance to sell at lower levels and some upward price exploration.
Demand side, SiMn futures fluctuated upward this week. Compared with the earlier market pessimism, the negative sentiment in the SiMn market eased slightly, but downstream plants remained cautious, closely watching futures prices. With the lifting of vehicle restrictions in the north due to military parades, a few low-price inquiries emerged, but port transactions remained sluggish as the market awaited the release of the next round of restocking demand from downstream. In south China, alloy plants adopted a cautious approach to both sales and manganese ore procurement, with inactive inquiries and stronger price pressure from buyers. However, due to the concentrated supply of manganese ore in the south, miners showed low willingness to concede on prices, resulting in a stalemate in market sentiment and stable spot prices.
Inventory side, overseas manganese ore faced no imminent port arrival pressure, and with high operating enthusiasm among downstream SiMn enterprises, port inventory changes were minimal as of last Friday.
Overall, the manganese ore market has been consolidating recently. With traders unwilling to sell at lower prices, the standoff between traders and downstream plants continues, keeping port transaction activity subdued and ore prices stable. The manganese ore market is expected to maintain a fluctuating upward trend, with focus on the next round of offers from mainstream mines and the rigid demand support from downstream SiMn alloy.
