Tungsten prices keep soaring in China
2005-03-02 17:28:46 【Print】
Beijing (Asian Metal) 02-Mar-05 Driven by the serious shortage of tungsten conc and high expectations for the forthcoming market, tungsten products have jumped up to another high level, with main stream prices concluded at rmb105000-110000/t for APT, rmb58000-60000/t for tungsten conc and rmb125000-130000/t for tungsten oxide, while just last week, the prices were only around rmb84000-87000/t, rmb53000-55000/t and rmb97000-99000/t respectively.
"We just sold some at around rmb110000/t to domestic buyers," a major tungsten smelter told Asian Metal, adding, " It (the price) is not for BTO but for APT. As for BTO, our price is rmb128000/t.
The smelter stopped production at the end of this January and just restarted operation last week. With 2000tpy APT production capacity, it plans to produce only 40-50t in this March due to a lack of tungsten conc supply.
"In fact, we did not purchase tungsten conc since the holiday, but consume the stocks accumulated previously, when the price was only around rmb46000/t," said the source. According to the source, current tungsten conc prices quoted by those small miners are over rmb60000/t. Although JXTC's guiding price is much lower than this, it does not provide any tungsten conc at all. "Many believed that the price could soon reach a level of rmb65000/t for tungsten conc, with even high ones, saying around rmb90000/t, expected by the market, but we are very prudent," the source told Asian Metal.
The smelter did not export in past days and has no such a plan by the moment. "It is quite impossible for foreign buyers to accept so high prices based on domestic market level. They are still watching the market," said the source, adding, "As I know, no export deal was concluded recently, so it is impossible to give a price indication." However, the source revealed that some companies are negotiating long-term contracts, with quantity fixed but price open.
According to the source, although foreign buyers would not like to accept a price of usd125-130/mtu, Chinese suppliers also show no interest in such a low level.
While the source claimed that it is too difficult to judge the market and hence gave a definite prediction, it believed that the price could ease in this April, when many tungsten miners would keep normal operation and provide relatively sufficient tungsten conc supply. Meanwhile, the source thought those foreign buyers might have already been forced to come back to the market before this April, because they have no so large a stock to sustain.
