Metal Bulletin this month launched two new weekly reference prices for the Manganese ore physical market: one index basis 44% Mn content, delivered cif Tianjin (China), and a second index basis 38% Mn, fob Port Elizabeth (South Africa).
The new indexes, which we have assessed since June and were published for the first time on October 12, address the requirement for independent representations of the international manganese ore spot market.
The Metal Bulletin 44% Mn Manganese Ore Index (MBMnOI44) and 38%Mn Index (MBMnOI38) use transaction data from a broad spectrum of industry participants and widespread contacts among manganese ore producers and traders across many countries.
“The move to spot-based pricing is underway in the manganese ore market and we believe the market will find these numbers useful,” Metal Bulletin editor Alex Harrison said.
“We have discussed the launch of these indices, including the methodology and specification, with market participants and look forward to more dialogue at Metal Bulletin’s ferro-alloys conference in Berlin on November 11-13 ,” he said.
The two manganese ore indices follow the cif China charge chrome index that Metal Bulletin launched earlier this year.
The manganese ore indexes are a tonnage weighted calculation of actual physical transactions, normalised to their respective % Mn basis and geographic location (Tianjin, China, and Port Elizabeth, South Africa respectively). They are published every week on Friday.
Cameron Hunt, director, MB Index, said. “The new indexes will bring transparency to this growing market. Metal Bulletin’s unique market balancing mechanism ensures that the indexes reflect the underlying market, reducing bias and influence.”
For details of the methodology and base specifications of the Indexes:
http://www.metalbulletin.com/Assets/pdf/MBIO/Manganese Ore Methodology.pdf
To view the 44% Mn ore price:
http://www.metalbulletin.com/My-price-book.html?price=42285
To view the 38% Mn ore price:
http://www.metalbulletin.com/My-price-book.html?price=42286
About Metal Bulletin
Metal Bulletin is the established leader in metals and minerals reporting. It has been reporting on iron ore transactions since the first print issue of the magazine was published in May 1913. Metal Bulletin’s reporting was instrumental in the development of the original iron ore benchmark pricing system, and it was also the first publisher to track the Chinese iron ore spot market since its creation in 2004. Since its development and launch in 2008, the Metal Bulletin Iron Ore Index has impartially tracked the iron ore spot market, and facilitated the industry’s move towards transparent pricing and longer-term risk management.
The MB Iron Ore Index is a tonnage-weighted calculation of actual transactions which are normalised on value-in-use and freight to a single base chemistry and delivery point.
Metal Bulletin’s breadth of product offerings extends from online news and prices services, magazines, newsletters and online real time services, to directories and databases, books, research reports, and consultancy and the staging of events around the globe in the form of conferences and exhibitions.
Metal Bulletin Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc, which is itself majority-owned by the Daily Mail & General Trust Plc (DMGT). Since 2010, Metal Bulletin has been working with Shanghai Steelhome, the leading independent data provider and iron ore research house in China, to consolidate its strength in data collection.