| Chinese spot magnesium ingot
export trades were lackluster as overseas buying interest remained
extremely lacking, industry sources said Tuesday.
"I have no overseas inquiries this
week but the domestic demand is still fine. European buyers are still very
cautious due to the ongoing concerns over the debt crisis in the eurozone,"
said a northwest China-based producer.
A south central China-based buyer said:
"Domestic demand is steady but overseas demand is not there."
"China's magnesium production has been
falling in the past few months due to weak demand," said a north
China-based analyst, referring to the latest data from National Bureau of
Statistics.
The country produced 56,192 mt of magnesium
in October, down 17.6% year on the year and down 7% month on month.
In the first 10 months, output reached
606,307 mt, down 19.5% from the same period in 2010.
Meanwhile, export offers were heard at
$3,000-3,100/mt FOB China this week, unchanged from last week, despite the
minimum export price at $3,150/mt set by the Chinese customs in November.
China set the official minimum export price
for 99.8% magnesium ingot at $3,250/mt on August 5, up from $3,150/mt on
July 1, but lowered it again this month.
"I have heard some offers at below
$3,000/mt but they are not the main stream prices," the northwest
China-based producer said.
A north China-based producer said:
"Offers around $3,000/mt are probably from smaller plants in the
Shaanxi province. They are not known for quality. The better quality ones
are from Shanxi and the offers are around $3,100/mt."
Domestic offers were at Yuan 16,000-16,300/mt
($3,263-3,322/mt) ex-works Shaanxi this week, unchanged from the previous
week. In Shanxi and Ningxia, offers were at Yuan 16,400-16,600/mt, similar
to those heard last week.
The northwest China-based producer said:
"Domestic prices might soften if overseas demand continued to be
weak. More goods will be redirected to the domestic market from exports,
thereby exerting pressure on domestic prices."
Platts maintained the weekly magnesium
ingot (minimum 99.8%) assessment at $3,000-3,100/mt FOB China Tuesday,
unchanged from the previous Tuesday.
The magnesium diecast alloy assessment was
also kept steady at $3,300-3,400/mt FOB China.
Source: Platts |
