Manganese flakes market falls down in Asian markets

1 Sep 08 - Manganese market falls down in Asia though more buyers were expected to enter the market after the summer holidays. Demand of the material remains stagnant and few deals are concluded at current prices of around USD3,900-3,950/t FOB.
A South Korean trader claimed that they have already booked some materials in the middle of August, purchased at around USD3,950/t CIF Incheon. "Actually, many downstream consumers still have some stocks at hand, and they keep pressing the price down," said the source who reported that due to the lower prices in China domestic market, the suppliers lowered their offers to slightly below USD3,900/t FOB at the moment.
The source expects more buying activity in the middle of this month while as the supply also increases gradually, the source thinks the price might fail to rebound. "The overall market is no in good shape this year and the consumers use fewer manganese products this year."
The source complained that the gradually booming manganese briquette market is another reason for less manganese demand. "The much cheaper price attracts more traders and consumers to transfer to this material," said the source.
Another Japanese trader who also keeps some stocks at hand told Asian Metal that the price they get from Chinese suppliers are dropping at the moment. "The offer we receive now is at around USD3,850-3,900/t FOB, compared with USD3,900-3,950/t FOB in the last week," said the source who still has no intention of replenishing some stocks.
The source also deals in some manganese briquette, whose price is around USD3,400/t FOB for the moment. "Manganese market is sliding with few materials purchased from China while the supply keeps increasing, so we think the price might fall further in the coming weeks," said the source who reported that the European and Asian Markets still see large stockpiles at hand. "Some buyers are purchasing, but they just want to buy materials for prompt release."