Manganese Metals Flakes supply tight in Europe

3 Feb 10 - Manganese supply is a bit tight due to less import from China last year. The price in European spot market rises gradually and though the price drops much from Chinese suppliers, the market stays firm in Rotterdam for low availability of the material.
A European trader about to purchase 100 tons of manganese flakes and briquette told Asian Metal that the offer rises to above USD2,900/t in the spot market, from about USD2,800-2,850/t last month. "There are very few materials in the spot market, which pushes the price up," said the source, claiming the offer from China is decreasing as manganese market is in low performance in Chinese domestic market.
But as the supply is also not very sufficient in Chinese spot market, some suppliers are not ready to sell and expect manganese price to rebound again after the Spring Festival. The source placed an order for about 200 tons of manganese briquette from China at about USD2,400/t CIF Rotterdam.
Another European trader sold out their stocks of about 100 tons of manganese flakes at USD2,950/t d.d.u to a local buyer before the price decreases in China. "While the supply is very tight in the spot market, we do not expect manganese price to follow suit in the near term," said the source, reporting that buyers mostly purchase from hand to mouth but have to accept the higher price for lack of materials.
As some buyers have placed some orders in advance, manganese supply may improve gradually in the coming weeks, which may hinder the price from increasing further, and make buyers more reluctant to buy unless the demand is urgent.
A third European trader reported to Asian Metal that they made a deal of only 10 tons at USD3,000/t d.d.p for prompt delivery. There are some small deals made in European spot market at relatively much higher prices while the offer last month stayed about USD2,900/t in Rotterdam warehouse.