Tungsten bar export market turns to be quiet again
2008-12-29 09:33:48 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 29 Dec 08 – With foreign buyers leaving the market for Christmas holiday, tungsten export market turns to be quiet again.
A major tungsten bar producer in Hunan, with a monthly capacity of 90t, sold 40t of tungsten bar 99.9%min WO3 used for steel production in November, to be delivered in January, with prices in a range of USD23.0-24.0/kg FOB CMP “Foreign buyers purchased actively before the holiday, and they worry about supply will be tight in February when the Chinese people enjoy the Spring Festival holiday,” said the source.
However, with most buyers out of the market, tungsten bar export market turns to be quiet again. The source will keep production till the end of next month and resume operation when they get orders from overseas buyers after the holiday.
The source thinks tungsten bar export market will remain thin in the coming one and half months during the Christmas holiday and Chinese Spring Festival holiday.
Another major tungsten bar smelter in Guangdong, with a monthly capacity of 70t, suspended production in the middle of November, but is still out of production.
According to the source, they received some inquiries from overseas market in the past two weeks. “One consumer would like to purchase 20t of tungsten bar, and counter bid USD22.0/kg FOB CMP for tungsten bar 99.8%min W used for steel production after we quoted USD24.0/kg FOB CMP,” said the source. “It is unlucky that we did not conclude many deals in December though we received some inquiries.”
However, the source confirmed that no buyer sent inquiries to them in the recent week, to say nothing of deals. The source is also pessimistic towards the future market and thinks the market will remain weak by the end of Spring Festival holiday.
