Manganese briquette price goes up

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 23 Jul 09 - Manganese briquette price rises to about USD2,100/t FOB with manganese price going up. Sources reported that there are some inquiries from Europe and Middle East but buyers feel a bit reluctant to buy at current price.
A Xiangxi-based trader received an inquiry from Europe who intends to purchase about one to two cargos of manganese briquette. "We are unwilling to accept a price below USD2,060/t FOB, about USD50/t higher than our last offer," said the source, claiming higher manganese price adds to the production cost of manganese briquette.
The source has some stocks in Rotterdam warehouse and offers USD2,100/t in warehouse Rotterdam to end user. However, demand is very slow while the consumers only purchase from hand to mouth. And very few of them are ready to stock for the moment as the market takes time to recover. Some end users are inquiring for supply after the holiday.
Another Changsha-based trader received an offer from another local supplier who offered USD2,100/t FOB, up from USD2,050/t FOB last week. "Manganese supply in China seems a bit tight and the price keeps increasing and pushes manganese briquette price up," said the source.
The source also receives an inquiry from India but the buyers only expect to buy some at about USD2,000/t FOB for the moment and some even try to purchase some at USD2,000/t CIF Nhava Sheva, but no Chinese supplier is interested in such a low price.
However, many participants are not very optimistic about the future market and expect the price to slide in August when they believe demand would drop greatly from overseas market. And they feel reluctant to purchase at current high price unless the demand is urgent.