Tungsten market supply and demand await a new development, with tungsten prices remaining in a weak and stable range.

According to China Tungsten Online’s April 7 report, tungsten prices are in a weak-but-stable range. Market liquidity is relatively sluggish, and participants are holding back to watch how the new-round predictions from Jiangxi industry institutions compare with the purchase prices for long-term orders by listed tungsten companies.

From the supply side, upstream mines and traders are still maintaining a certain willingness to take profits, but the pace of shipments is relatively rational, and the bottom of the market remains firm. From the demand side, downstream end users’ procurement sentiment overall remains lackluster; the market’s atmosphere of “not buying the dip” has been released. Beyond essential demand, there are no obvious signs of restocking.

In the macro context, based on the policy signals released in the recent《State Taxation Administration of the People’s Republic of China Press Conference for Regular Updates》, the campaign to crack down on “invoice-based economic activity” has moved from a macro orientation into a deep implementation phase targeting specific industries and key areas. Its core is to curb “digital prosperity” characterized by fictitious invoicing and circular trading, and to rebuild a market transaction system that is real and compliant.

Against the backdrop of the current operations of the tungsten industry, China Tungsten Online believes that in recent days tungsten scrap prices have seen a clear pullback. Superficially, this is attributed to market sentiment fluctuations, tungsten scrap quality, and stage-wise imbalances between supply and demand. However, the deeper cause is closely related to insufficient compliance in some transactions within the circulation links. During the recycling and circulation process of certain scrap tungsten resources, there may be issues such as transfers without invoices, improper invoicing, or unclear counterparties. Under tightening supervision across taxation matters, the downward transmission of such resources to downstream users will face higher compliance costs and greater circulation obstacles, thereby exerting a stage-wise downward pressure on prices. Based on the analysis of the spirit of the meeting, China Tungsten Online, from a policy-orientated perspective, notes that tax authorities have clearly designated areas such as renewable resources and recycling and utilization as key targets for further rectification. In the future, scrutiny of high-risk companies and abnormal invoicing activities will continue to be strengthened. This means that the scrap tungsten market may face downward pressure in the short term, especially as non-compliant channel resources will accelerate their clearance, and market volatility will increase. But in the medium to long term, this round of rectification will help to purify the market environment and promote the development of the scrap tungsten recycling system toward standardization and transparency. Companies with valid legal qualifications, complete invoice documentation, and compliant operations will obtain more stable room for development, and the industry concentration and pricing mechanism are also expected to be gradually optimized. For industry participants, strengthening compliance awareness and improving the invoice documentation system will become a basic prerequisite for competing in the market in the future.

As of the time of this release, the price of 65% tungsten concentrate is 88.78T yuan per metric ton (tonne), down 8.6% from the highest level, and up 108.7% year-to-date.

The price of 65% white tungsten concentrate is 8B yuan per metric ton (tonne), down 8.6% from the highest level, and up 108.9% year-to-date.

Ammonium paratungstate (APT) is priced at 1.51T yuan per tonne, down 4.6% from the highest level, and up 116.4% year-to-date.

The European APT price is 2800-3190 USD per tonne, equivalent to 1.706-1.943 million yuan per tonne, up 225.5% year-to-date.

Tungsten powder is priced at 2340 yuan per kilogram, down 2.5% from the highest level, and up 116.7% year-to-date.

Prices for tungsten carbide powder are 2280 yuan per kilogram, down 2.6% from the highest level, and up 119.2% year-to-date.

Cobalt powder is priced at 580 yuan per kilogram, up 11.5% year-to-date.

The price of 70 tungsten iron is 1.38 million yuan per tonne, down 2.8% from the highest level, and up 112.3% year-to-date.

The European tungsten iron price is 310-330 USD per kilogram (kilogram of tungsten iron), equivalent to 1.494-1.59 million yuan per tonne, up 132.7% year-to-date.

Scrap tungsten rod is priced at 1030 yuan per kilogram, down 24.8% from the highest level, and up 71.7% year-to-date.

Scrap tungsten drill bits are priced at 1000 yuan per kilogram, down 27.0% from the highest level, and up 72.4% year-to-date.