Foreign Media: More Miners will Re-start Operating Tungsten Price Pressure

According to foreign media reports, trade in China's tungsten market has been quiet in the past week, with prices falling and trading activities limited. It is understood that the European market assessed the price of tungsten concentrate on April 4 at US$17,419-17,577 per ton, down by US$1,000 from the previous week.

European media "Metal Guide" analysis: "With the end of the two sessions of China, some temporarily suspended miners will restart mining work, and it is expected that tungsten concentrate production will increase in April, which will make the market more competitive, at the same time, because The implementation of the environmental protection policy continued to strengthen, resulting in a decline in the operating rate of smelters, and the consumption of ammonium paratungstate (APT) smelters was low, resulting in an increase in the stock of tungsten concentrates."

The reality is that prices are still at a standstill. "In an interview on April 4, there was a quotation of 109,000 yuan per ton of tungsten concentrate in the Chinese market, but no transaction was found at that price," the Metal Bulletin said. Because of the relationship between the Qingming Festival, there is no further discount.
In addition, there are media reports that APT quotations in the European market are also declining. The current FOB China price is estimated at US$322-326 per metric ton (mtu), which is lower than US$325-328 in the previous week. Benchmark CIF Rotterdam APT prices also fell 0.6% to $325-330 per metric ton (mtu) on April 6.

"There is pressure in the market and prices are weakening. A European trader said that although the demand was not very large, the availability was quite good. But in the near future, we may see further price declines. "I've heard an offer of about $320 per ton, and I'm waiting for the price to fall further.

Another trader said that tungsten concentrate prices were also falling and more materials were on the market. Previously, due to the schedule of the Chinese Lunar New Year and the two sessions of the Chinese Communist Party, the market expected that the supply of goods would be tight, resulting in excessive rise in transaction prices. Now is the time to make some adjustments.
In addition, "due to the rising price of primary ore, people began to favor the recycling of tungsten scrap. The trade of tungsten scrap in the market is becoming more and more active, which is also one of the factors driving down prices." The third trader said.

At the same time, the price of ferrotungsten is relatively calm, ranging from $41.50 to $43.50 per ton, but the price seems to be less stable. Traders said: "At present, the ferrotungsten market is very illiquid and the spot market is not active. There is still a quotation of $42 per kilogram on the market, but would you like to sell it? It's a fantastic night. More people are waiting for the market to cut prices further.

In short, foreign media expect more miners to resume operations, which is expected to reduce the price of tungsten concentrates in China.

China Tungsten Line believes that the current weakening of tungsten price is only a temporary adjustment, is the normal fluctuation of the market, there is no need to be too pessimistic. With the strengthening of Chinese awareness of resource protection, it is difficult to sell strategic mineral resources cheaply. From the comprehensive data of Tungsten Association and the comprehensive analysis of domestic market, Chinese miners are more inclined to protect the stability of the market and maintain the healthy development of enterprises. Therefore, we still have confidence in the future price stability and rise of tungsten market, and the current price need not be careless. On the contrary, trade enterprises engaged in tungsten products import and export should pay more attention to the impact of the intermediate exchange rate between RMB and US dollar and future trade frictions.

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