Struggling Tungsten Signals Poor Prognosis For EU Industry

Prices for ferro-tungsten, a hard metal used in tool steels and light bulbs, have fallen to a more than two-year low in Europe, with traders blaming the continent's ailing steel industry and muted manufacturing activity. At around $39-$40 per kg, prices for ferro-tungsten are down nearly 10 percent since the beginning of the year and at their lowest since November 2010.

Prized for its high strength and resistance to heat, ferro-tungsten is commonly used as a steel alloy in industrial tools and heavy machinery used for working other metals, such as moulds and cutting tools. It is also used in filaments, electrodes, wires and other electrical and electronic components.

Metals traders said supplies were abundant, inquiries for ferro-tungsten were rare and trade volumes very thin, leaving them scrambling to secure orders at ever lower prices. "There's very little appetite for it (ferro-tungsten) in Europe from the steel mills and a lot of people have a lot of material on hand," said a UK-based trader.

Traders said prices were also weakening for other steel alloys such as ferro-molybdenum and ferro-vanadium, reflecting the woes of European steel firms, which have suffered heavy losses in recent years on the back of falling steel demand.

Steel demand is likely to slide further this year in Europe before a mild rebound takes hold in 2014, though it will remain well below pre-crisis levels, steel industry body Eurofer said last month. The fall in tungsten prices also reflects the wider struggle of manufacturing activity in Europe, said Robert Baylis, managing director at consultancy firm Roskill.

"You've got to remember that quite a lot of tungsten is used for automotive-related use and the European car manufacturing industry has been on a bit of a nosedive recently," he said.

Contrasting with the optimism that has lately lifted stock markets to multi-year highs, sagging physical demand and low confidence in Europe's chances of economic recovery are pressuring tungsten prices in a downward spiral, traders said. "Normally first quarters are very good quarters. But people are not confident, the economy is not as good as people expected," said a metals trader based in Germany.

Tungsten Manufacturer & Supplier: Chinatungsten Online - http://www.chinatungsten.com
Tel.: 86 592 5129696; Fax: 86 592 5129797
Email: sales@chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, 3G Version: http://3g.chinatungsten.com
Tungsten News & Tungsten Prices, WML Version: http://m.chinatungsten.com

• < Prev
• Next >