Tungsten Prices Remain Firm19 Jul 2013
by Metal-Pages
Chinese tungsten APT prices hold firm on limited availability
BEIJING (Metal-Pages) 19-Jul-13. Chinese tungsten APT prices showed some softness at the beginning of the week due to sparse purchases, but limited availability has prevented prices from falling further.
Domestic prices for tungsten APT grade 88.50% have stayed at RMB214,000-219,000/tonne, without slipping over the past three days.
| Tungsten APT min 88.5% price for 18 Jul 2013 |
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| Market |
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| Price |
214,000.00 - 219,000.00 |
| Previous |
214,000.00 - 219,000.00 |
| Change |
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Metal prices |
Tungsten APT prices have kept picking up since April when prices stood at RMB173,000-175,000/tonne. Prices hit RMB215,000-220,000/tonne at the end of June, which was the peak level in the first half of 2013.
“APT prices softened RMB1,000/tonne from peak prices at the start of the week owing to slow purchases from downstream producers. But prices soon stopped falling on the back of limited availability and high production costs,” a smelter source in Jiangxi province said.
“Most smelters hold limited stocks after stoppages and output cuts over the past half year. There is not much material in the market and smelters are unwilling to cut prices further,” a second Jiangxi-based smelter source said.
Meanwhile, export prices have kept firm at $410-420/mtu.
“Availability from smelters is not sufficient. Meanwhile, European prices have increased to $405-410/mtu over the past few days. That will support the stability of Chinese export prices,” a trade source said.
(All Chinese RMB prices mentioned in this story are VAT included unless otherwise stated.)
-By Hellen Hu in Beijing （
hellen@metal-pages.asia）