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Tungsten scrap, concentrate tightness pushes APT price to more than three-year high
Published by: Cristina Belda
25 Jan 2022 @ 18:33 UTC
Tighter supply and higher prices of tungsten scrap and tungsten concentrate have supported the tungsten intermediates price to rise to its highest level in more than three years.
Fastmarkets assessed the tungsten APT, 88.5% WO3 min, cif Rotterdam and Baltimore price at $330-335 per mtu on Friday January 21, up by 1.37% from the previous week’s assessment of $326-330 per mtu. The market is now trading at its highest level since July 2018.
The increase started at the beginning of 2022 amid very dry stocks in European warehouses, when consumers usually start restocking. "Typically, people want to see how the year ended with inventory and are now anxious to replenish," a source told Fastmarkets.
“We weren't able to get the material we wanted because of very low inventory,” the source added. “I am also experiencing another push on scrap prices where the prices for material have increased right at the start of the new year.”
For the time being, the tightness is more acute in Europe than in North America, sources said.
“In 2021 the EU lagged behin the US in price and availability, but now it has flipped. The US pricing is availability is still difficult, but the EU is now seeing pricing higher than the US. The higher raw material costs of all feeds certainly translate to APT,” the first consumer said.
Demand has intensified at the end of January, with some buyers looking for units ahead of the January 31-February 6 Chinese New Year holiday in China.
"We are seeing an increase in prices both in secondary raw material and oxide markets. The Chinese New Year as well as the Winter Olympics coming is potentially going to reduce the amount of material available, which is adding some pressure,” a tungsten supplier said.
Chinese producers told Fastmarkets that spot material remains limited and that the tightness has been exacerbated by plant maintenance.
"This year's lunar new year was about 15 days earlier than the previous and upstream production has entered the shutdown and maintenance period, tightening supply," a producer in China said. “Downstream enterprises had to purchase in advance to prepare raw material stock to meet the needs of continuous production during the Spring Festival holidays and to cover the gap period of about 30 days during which upstream production and supply will not resume immediately after the Spring Festival holidays.”
“At present, most of China's domestic smelters do not have much spot APT products and most of their newly produced APT products are used to deliver the committed orders," the source said. “Powder and cemented carbide factories in China are also very active in the number of inquiries and purchase of tungsten raw materials including APT and tungsten oxide."
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