Buyers have been slow to close contracts in the South Korean export market for manganese alloys in late August. High-carbon ferromanganese  (75% Mn) is stillavailable at $1，000-1，050/t F0B and the material (73% Mn) - at $1，000/t F0B. Customers from Japan and the Far East request 100-200 t at $1，000/t CIF or lower. A 500-tonne lot of the alloy (73% Mn) has been reportedly sold to a Japanese end user at $980/t CIF.
Middle-carbon ferromanganese (80% Mn; 1.5% C) can still be bought at $1，500-1，550/t F0B and the material (75% Mn;
2% C) - at $1，380-1，400/t F0B. A 100-tonne lot is said to have been marketed to SE Asia at $1，400/t CIF. 0ne South Korean producer considers launching production of the alloy (78% Mn; 1.5% C) yearly next year in light of healthy European and SE Asian demand.

• [Editor:Sophie]