European ferrotungsten market firms up slightly
2009-07-31 08:56:00 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 31 Jul 09 – According to the newly released data from China Custom, China exported 4t of ferrotungsten in June to South Korea, and no material was shipped to Europe. As stock becomes low, price increased slightly in Europe.
A European trader disclosed to Asian Metal that a deal of 25t of ferrotungsten was concluded to a German consumer at USD25.35/kg W d.d.p., and another deal of 10t of ferrotungsten sealed to Ukraine at USD25.50/kg W d.d.p. this Wednesday. “Compared to the price of USD24.50-25.00/kg W in the past several weeks, the current price is up a little, and I would put the mainstream price in the range of USD25.00-25.50/kg W in warehouse Rotterdam,” the trader remarked.
According to him, Chinese producers insisted on offers at around USD25.50/kg W in warehouse Rotterdam, and Vietnamese suppliers also raised offers from USD24.00-24.50/kg W to currently USD25.00/kg W in warehouse Rotterdam. Moreover, the stock level in Europe becomes low again.
He sees the demand of ferrotungsten in Europe is still very weak as the tool steel industry is running at low level, and consumers are not in need of raw material. “The German consumer used to buy close to 100tpm in the second quarter of this year, but he had not bought anything already for a month, and then came to market just for 25t of the material,” said the source, believing there is no improvement in demand.
Look into the near future, the trader takes that some steel mills will come back to market from their holiday after two weeks, so we may see some inquiries in two weeks' time.
Another European trader sold 2t of ferrotungsten to a local consumer at USD25.50/kg W in warehouse Rotterdam, and he holds that the ferrotungsten market has firmed up a little, but the general sentiment in the market is still negative when people see few activities.
He also holds that the supply is tight, but with the poor demand, the market is likely to hold at the current level in the near future, and he expects market to turn warm in the end of August when summer holiday is over.
