Niobium carbide price may drop further in China

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 5 Dec 08 – The niobium carbide market may go down in the coming weeks, with the price of niobium oxide down from RMB300-320/kg (USD44-47/kg) to RMB280-300/kg (USD41-44/kg) late November.

“Many domestic steel mills reduce their outputs and the ferroniobium conclusions are not many, so it is generally agreed that niobium products, including niobium oxide and carbide, markets will go down,” said a niobium carbide producer, whose monthly output is around 400-500kg .

The producer did not purchase any niobium oxide in November, because demand for the material is low. The price of niobium oxide decreased from RMB300-320/kg to RMB280-290/kg late November, so the niobium carbide smelter decreases their price from RMB620/kg (USD91/kg) late November to RMB600/kg (USD88/kg) this week.Asian Metal Copyright Other participants reveal that the price of niobium carbide may drop from RMB580-610kg USD85-89kg early November to around RMB550-580kg USD80-85kg, but conclusions will not increase, as consumers will wait until the market bottoms out.Asian Metal Copyright

The source believes that demand for niobium carbide is likely to decrease because many cemented carbide producers cut down their outputs.

Other participants reveal that the price of niobium carbide may drop from RMB580-610/kg (USD85-89/kg) early November to around RMB550-580/kg (USD80-85/kg), but conclusions will not increase, as consumers will wait until the market bottoms out.