Ferrotungsten prices to slide?
2005-06-02 08:55:45 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 2 Jun 05 – With tungsten concentrate prices steady at around RMB130,000/t (USD15,709/t) for almost three weeks, the ferrotungsten market started to soften, some tungsten smelters claimed.
An official from a major tungsten smelter in North China said, “Currently, foreign buyers refuse to accept USD35/kg W for ferrotungsten, at which we concluded deals two weeks ago.” The source added that foreign buyers want a price of USD34-34.5/kg W.
With a production capacity of 700tpm of ferrotungsten, the smelter halted production after the May holiday. “We plan to resume production in mid-June,” the source told Asian Metal.
The source predicted that tungsten concentrate prices would probably not rise again in near future.
Another North China-based ferrotungsten smelter confirmed the sliding trend of ferrotungsten. “This week, we quoted over USD35/kg W, but foreign buyers’ counteroffers were around USD33-34/kg W.” The smelter quotes RMB200,000/t for ferrotungsten in the Chinese market.
Two weeks ago, the smelters purchased some tungsten concentrate for RMB135,000/t (USD16,314/t). “Due to high production costs, USD35/kg W is the bottom line,” the source said.
With a production capacity of 40tpm, the smelter’s current monthly output is around 20t.
Meanwhile, the smelter’s consumption of tungsten concentrate decreased from 60t to around 20t per month.
"Last week, we sold 2t of ferrotungsten for RMB195,000/t," a trader reported to Asian Metal today. "We still have 3t of stocks which we would like to sell at that price."
