Domestic silico manganese prices eased as mills kept their buying cautious. With steel demand not yet firm enough to trigger restocking, smelters faced limited enquiry and gave ground on offers rather than hold stock. Manganese ore costs and power tariffs set the effective floor under the market; how quickly prices recover depends on when mills return in volume. Until then, producers manage output and inventories carefully, and buyers enjoy a rare stretch of negotiating leverage in a market that turns quickly when sentiment shifts.