China ferrotungsten price at 21-mth low on thin demand

China’s ferrotungsten price has been trending down since early April, undermined by thin demand and bearish sentiment, with that for 80% W ferrotungsten losing another Yuan 3,000/tonne ($436/t) month on month to reach Yuan 156,000/t including the 13% VAT as of May 15, according to Mysteel’s database.

“Demand from downstream users remained lackluster recently,” a market source in Southeast China’s Jiangxi province said, adding that the escalation of Sino-US trade friction also aggravated the wait-and-see sentiment in the domestic tungsten market, and encouraged buyers to slow their pace of purchasing. The Trump administration has decided to hike the tariffs on $200 billion