Manganese alloy prices continue to come under pressure in the United States, with the news that Mittal Steel USA has extended the outage at its Weirton, W.Va., plant adding fuel to the fire.

"I guess Weirton is just one of the realities of consolidation, but I think it will probably lead to greater softness in the alloys," a trader said.

Prices for standard high-carbon ferromanganese are steady at around $550 to $560 per ton, although one market participant reported a little bit of softness," suggesting prices are moving below $550. "There's just so much excess capacity," he said.

Medium-carbon ferromanganese also is feeling the strain, with prices slipping below 65 cents per pound compared with 65 to 67 cents in early May.

Silicomanganese also is under pressure, although prices continue to hold above the 30-cent-perpound level at around 31 to 32 cents, down from 33 to 34 cents in May, traders and producers said.
The decline in manganese alloy prices has already led to the exit of producers such as Globe Metallurgical Corp. and Highlander Alloys LLC, but trade sources said the future will depend on the actions of integrated suppliers who continue to make money even at the lower price levels. "They make their money on the ore, not on the alloy. As long as they keep pumping the ore out, they'll make money," one trader said.

There have been some cutbacks, especially in China, where trade sources said producers have reduced output. Eramet SA shuttered a furnace at its Guilin plant in Guangxi, China, last month, but traders said that more is needed.