Factors of Tungsten Market
The price of tungsten has increased dramatically on tight export controls from China, the producer of approximately 90 percent of world supply. The price of tungsten APT is currently being quoted around $485 per tonne, up from $261 per tonne last October. The tight Chinese export controls and increasing demand for tungsten, which has few substitutes, has made tungsten one of the most interesting stories in commodities.
In an interview with Tungsten Investing News, Pierre Monet talks about the tungsten market, and Malaga’s mining operations in Peru.
Tungsten Market Factors
The market for tungsten has been exploding over the last year. The majority of the increased demand for the metal in the developed countries comes from traditional carbide tools used in drill bits and other heavy duty equipment.
“Several factors are supporting demand. 45 percent of tungsten used in China is for carbide tools and equipment, compared to 70 percent in developed countries. China is looking at increasing tungsten use in order produce better quality tools and equipment. Obviously, oil prices drive drilling and tungsten is used in drill bits,” stated Monet.
Tungsten’s use industrial equipment and increased exploration by oil and mining companies due to increased commodity prices accounts for a large part of the demand. While new markets for the metal are adding significant tonnage.
“There are new applications for tungsten such as cellular phones, and LCD screens that also support demand growth. With tungsten’s unique properties there are no real substitutes,” said Monet.
With the current high prices of tungsten consumers of tungsten are not concerned with finding substitutes. Instead, consumers are simply trying to find steady supply of the metal. “When we attended the ITIA International Tungsten Conference we asked participants at what price would be level for substitute products? The answer was, we are not concerned with the price, we are more concerned with where we will get tungsten from,” stated Monet.
Supply deficits have been exacerbated by Chinese trade policy, through tight export controls. “There is no reason whatsoever for China to start exporting tungsten,” stated Monet, adding, “If a user wants to use China’s tungsten, they must have a facility in China and use it to build value-added product.” While the export quota for tungsten was raised by 7,000 tonnes for the year, it has brought little relief to end users.
免責聲明：上文僅代表作者或發布者觀點，與本站無關。本站并無義務對其原創性及內容加以證實。對本文全部或者部分內容(文字或圖片)的真實性、完整性本站不作任何保證或承諾，請讀者參考時自行核實相關內容。本站制作、轉載、同意會員發布上述內容僅出于傳遞更多信息之目的，但不表明本站認可、同意或贊同其觀點。上述內容僅供參考，不構成投資決策之建議；投資者據此操作，風險自擔。如對上述內容有任何異議，請聯系相關作者或與本站站長聯系，本站將盡可能協助處理有關事宜。謝謝訪問與合作！ 中鎢在線采集制作。
|
