Tungsten Price Remains Firm on Tight Raw Material Supply, SMM Reports

SHANGHAI, Apr. 12 (SMM) – On Apr. 10, one large tungsten smelter in Fujian increased APT offers for term contact by 1,500 yuan per tonne to 119,000 yuan per tonne on a weekly basis, sparking market speculations over tungsten price. Tungsten price declined slightly with lack of upward strength but rallied marginally on Apr. 10.

In other news, one large tungsten smelter in Jiangxi issues purchase inquiries constantly from Apr. 11, with black tungsten concentrate offer at 78,000 yuan per tonnes and that of white tungsten concentrate at 760,000 yuan per tonne.

Some mines hold offline from 2017 Chinese New Year holiday. This, coupled with environmental protection inspections, triggers tungsten mines and traders’ optimistic outlook. Those mines and traders thus hold back sales, tightening tungsten concentrate supply in China’s market.

On this context, leading tungsten smelters in Jiangxi raise offers, up to as high as 123,000 yuan per tonne, but no trading is reported yet. With insufficient tungsten ore supply, it is difficult for tungsten smelters to offer prices and some tungsten smelters even stop giving offers.

To sum up, raw material supply dominates tungsten market at present, but the tight supply is deviant. Tungsten price stays firm with market optimistic outlook. Producers are suggested to keep an eye on market changes.

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