The ferro-tungsten market has been stagnant in recent weeks, with only a handful of transactions taking place. Last Friday, in China, inactivity translated into a dip in prices. Ferro-tungsten fell to $25.90 a kilogram, down from the recent rate of $28.00 per kilogram.
The tungsten market has been quiet for ’09. Ferro-tungsten prices have been slowly creeping up due to short supply, so it is exploration as usual for the tungsten business. Tungsten exploration outside of China is critical, as the country has a monopoly on the metal used for military and aeronautical equipment.
Chinese ferrotungsten export prices have been creeping up since the conclusion of the spring festival in January. Low prices in the fourth quarter of 2008 pushed many key tungsten producers to stop operations. The same miners have announced, that despite the current trend, they do not plan to resume mining and production in short term.
Friday, March 27, 2009