Indian silico manganese export market remains subdued w-o-w amid cautious overseas buying

• • Sluggish overseas demand limits export bookings

• • Softer imported ore prices dampen market sentiment further

Indian silico manganese exports remained under pressure this week, with sluggish overseas demand, cautious buyer sentiment, and widening buyer-seller expectations limiting fresh trade. Competitive offers from other exporting countries further constrained export activity.

As per BigMint assessment, 65-16 grade prices fell by $6/t w-o-w to $907/t FOB, while 60-14 grade remained unchnaged to $813/t FOB Haldia/Vizag.

A trader told BigMint, “Most overseas buyers are adopting a wait-and-watch approach, delaying fresh bookings in anticipation of softer offers over the coming weeks.”

Market overview:

Export enquiries stay thin amid cautious overseas buying: silico manganese export activity remained subdued as overseas buyers adopted a wait-and-watch approach, anticipating further price corrections before concluding fresh deals. Limited enquiries from key export destinations, coupled with widening buyer-seller price expectations and competitive offers from other origins, restricted trading activity. As a result, export bookings remained thin, with sellers largely resisting aggressive price cuts despite subdued demand.

Weak buying extends imported manganese ore decline: Indian imported manganese ore prices extended their decline w-o-w as weak downstream steel demand continued to dampen buying interest from alloy producers. Indian smelters largely limited procurement to immediate requirements, preferring to monitor cargo availability before placing fresh orders. Meanwhile, Chinese buyers remained largely absent from the seaborne market due to comfortable port inventories. The subdued demand from both India and China prompted major overseas miners to lower offer prices in an effort to stimulate buying activity.

• • Australian high-grade ore (Mn 46%)inched down by $0.07/dmtu w-o-w to $5.28/dmtu CNF Haldia/Vizag.

• • Gabonese high-grade ore (Mn 44%)decreased $0.01/dmtu w-o-w to $5.09/dmtu CNF Haldia/Vizag.

• • South African lumps (Mn 37%) were down by $0.10/dmtu w-o-w to $4.50/dmtu CNF Haldia/Vizag.

Chinese weakness weighs on silico manganese: China’s silico manganese market remained stable across major grades as smelters, constrained by persistent losses, maintained firm offers and resisted price cuts. Stable manganese ore and metallurgical coke costs continued to provide cost support, while steel mills limited procurement to immediate requirements, resulting in subdued trading activity.

Prices remained stable w-o-w, with the Mn 65%, Si 17% grade at RMB 5,570-5,830/t ($823-861/t) exw and the Mn 60%, Si 14% variant at RMB 5,310-5,430/t ($784-802/t).

Outlook:

Indian silico manganese exports are expected to remain subdued in the near term, with overseas demand, Chinese market trends, freight costs, and manganese ore prices likely to determine trade sentiment and booking activity.