15 Aug 08 - The export market for magnesium ingot
has kept dull for over two months while the price has been decreasing.
Close sources revealed that the Tianjin Customs has set up the price
floor for magnesium export, which casts shadows on the market.
A
Beijing-based trader revealed that a batch of magnesium ingot was
rested in Tianjin port, for the contracted price of the material is
much lower than USD4,800/t FOB Tianjin set by the Tianjin Customs as
the minimum export price. "Those who have orders to fulfill will have
to pay export tax according to the price floor, which means their
export cost will be absolutely higher," said the source.
The
source revealed that he's only fulfilling some old contracts signed
before the price started to drop. Consumers showed no interest in his
offer of USD4,200/t FOB Tianjin this week. The source plans to suspend
quoting as he is not ready to pay the export tax according to the price
floor which is USD500-600/t than the current market price.
An
Inner Mongolia magnesium producer decided to postpone the shipment of a
batch of magnesium ingot which was concluded at USD3,800/t FOB China.
"We put off the fulfillment of the order which was signed half a year
ago. However, hardly had we started to arrange shipment, we learnt
about the limit price, so we have to postpone the shipment again," said
the source.
The
source has not done any export business recently but only sold some
materials in the spot market. "The lowest price we accepted was
RMB25,000/t (USD3,644/t) ex works," said the source, adding that they
learnt that deals were concluded at prices below such a level in
Shanxi's Taiyuan and Shaanxi's Fugu. According to the source, the
smelter is running below its capacity of 8,000tpy with some furnaces
being overhauled.
Both
sources worry that the policy of price floor will hurt the already
sluggish market and make the situation worse. They are having a close
eye on the market and waiting for the move of the Customs.
Price floor troubles magnesium exporters
Price of magnesium in European market keeps stable
14 Aug 08- Price of magnesium in European market
keeps stable at around USD4,500-4,600/t in warehouse Rotterdam and
sources believe price may go down as market remains quiet.
"Most
buyers are covered for the month," said a European supplier who put the
price at around USD4,400-4,500/t in warehouse Rotterdam. According to
the source, price may go down in a short time, considering the fact
that demand is week and more supply is coming into the market.
For
the future market, the source noted that buyers are not interested in
purchasing now which will put pressure on the current market and the
price may drop by around USD100/t in the near future.
Another
European trader confirmed a deal of a container at USD4,500/t and
claimed some traders can sell at around EUR4,400/t d.d.p, but since
demand is not much price may start to slide in the short-term.
“Suppliers are still producing now and more supply is expected to come into Europe in the near future,” said the source.
The
source noted that consumers are not buying much in the market as they
are covered for the third and fourth quarter and price will start to
move again when people are looking for supplement by the end of the
month.
Magnesium Ingot by country Exp Jun 2008 China
25-Jul-2008 Amount Unit: usd1477B5 Quantity Unit: kg
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
4Y91OTWDRZ No. FDKU1D50AE6VY Jun
------------------------------------
CountryHOY8 HR Quantity 7EIJ Amount
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
81041100ZTotalCI4U9I69X3SUF3L613N V18,023,996B36Q9338W4 82,470,702
4 102R BahrianELP80LSR0LK9XMN7GM6Y147 490,2887B54Y91OTWD 2,427,475
R 111Z IndiaFDKU1D50AE6VYE7G8VBM7VEHS 582,7438H468AHN815 2,758,774
V 1128 Indonesia2378J5R8B3OXEO4X237Y9P 74,016SY1K6Y2QNZILW 295,693
9 113B Iran279ELR02G5094400HVBF5SBII6B 44,215A5OCD3WC2O7C3 238,761
3 116R Japan10P57F3N7IPVTAK7U2T79J5 2,876,444R9M3ZYFP9Y 14,456,875
3 1223 Malaysia8Y4PSZ1K6Z2Q99JLW0M670E 62,252MR02650449017 288,259
V 126B OmanG5TCIT6C45ZCE3WD2O7D33S11P6 24,9821F491IQV14L78 149,392
7 1272 Pakistan288CP8A3NWDC4WV3IM91240J 3,2485571M58J35Z125 16,357
C 1319 Saudi ArabiaQOVF5O904P0GJP702PW 40,000G5QZBM60246UC 241,961
I 1336 Korea Rep93F6126U8MOV924VCMKVF 442,159HSWX16W0I58 1,967,490
1 1361 ThailandL88J39ZE69C3P9FE49X3KY 164,3790FSZ146ZG2OZY 818,547
L 137L Turkey6B2368C3259F26D12TYBHW7J 119,785HOY2IR7EI7ZCI 636,029
5 138U United Arab Emirates0J6033TVG3 312,113W013OWB4609 1,410,750
4 1437 Taiwan prov.8244CF5TAG58215904P 20,0006WJQ702QX82QP1 90,000
C 215R EgyptS94R8D3699G66D17UY47XEK70Z 23,00037S28Z4QTZO80 111,320
A 2442 S.AfricaR90K8X0M6806M1037A04590 83,454OTWCG5TCJT0D4 470,830
5 301Z BelgiumD6UXD3SY259W26T133903M7 578,872Z3PZ9I772J4 2,528,914
P 303D United KingdomJ580JQ6YKJW8KM61 223,95745WC463Q00N 1,165,302
5 3040 Germany1I80G5T1JJ6DC5PS1K5T368 789,607704S7DQQ7G4 3,490,348
5 3057 France32W804X9HKV9K679D4Q9G6Y9 126,000348Z4RUA146AH 608,580
R 307P ItalyAKMXBCS802N7093H7CEP7UZ47 791,864XFK70A37S2G 3,724,404
U 3098 NetherlandsAOU924UB0JVUHHVX0 5,114,97669DKQ92F59 21,950,404
9 3164 Bulgaria4P0GJPE4RQXH5QA4N6D3462 20,000C7693Q60T13U9 100,000
0 3263 NorwayM7A3PAIJ782J8ADK580KRBZK 774,834UWHLM0146X2 4,090,305
P 327V PolandGDPYBM6R836UBH68WF66C167 100,000XL6V1IRYY2RH7 486,000
U 334I Estonia3PCI570JQ6YJIVV9L6795WB0 48,000G6ZA3W8A4RXE7 290,305
Q 3502 SloveniaE4811OQB1R892JRW248F26 209,768612SXAGL79XEO 945,569
4 402X Argentina237Y9PSY1K6Y2PNZIKV9B 112,677279ELR02G510P 495,906
6 4291 MexicoF391IQV14L7116612LZFJ68FM 74,333M7GF3IM91240I 436,253
5 4454 Venezuela71M58J35Z125C9POVF5O90 19,7004S1J4S8E3793S7 59,100
C 501E CanadaP7F457XFL704<
Magnesium ingot export market quiet
Producers and traders reported weak demand in
magnesium export market. Besides that most European buyers are on
summer vacations, buyers from Asian countries are also not active in
purchasing.
A
Shanxi-based trader who exported over 500tpm of magnesium ingot before
the second quarter has not concluded any new deals since early July.
The source reported that no European buyers are in the market now, and
he only received sporadic inquiries with small quantities from some
Indian buyers. However, buyers would not like to accept the offer of
around USD4,300/t FOB Chinese main ports.
The
source thinks that many consumers, especially Europeans, have piled up
more than enough materials before May for fear that the supply may be
interrupted during the Olympic Games. Additionally, many of them are
absent from the market for holidays, leading to very weak demand.
A
Shanxi-based producer, running below its capacity of 10,000tpy
confirmed the slack export market, citing that no inquiries have been
received during the past two weeks.
“Most
producers are selling in the domestic market due to weak demand from
foreign buyers,” said the source. “We made some unsolicited offers of
USD4,300-4,350/t FOB Tianjin this week but have not received any
response from our customers.”
The
source learnt that some smelters could afford a price as low as
USD4,200/t FOB, but claimed that they would not accept such a low
price. “We’d rather sell at RMB25,000/t (USD3,650/t) ex works in the
domestic market than export at USD4,200/t FOB,” added the source.
The
source expects that the export market may pick up late August or early
Septemper when most foreign buyers return to the market to supplement
stocks.
Magnesium ingot price might go lower after the holidays
Magnesium market is quiet in Europe because of the
summer holiday, and sources said nothing absolutely is going on.
However, some participants anticipated lower prices after the holiday,
looking at the market from the side of demand, which will keep low till
end of August.
Not
like when demand is weak, price has kept stable at around
USD4,500-4,600/t in Rotterdam warehouse as business started on Monday.
A
western trader who said he is negotiating deals this weak at USD4,300/t
CIF Rotterdam port, said they are expecting the price to go down after
the holiday because demand in China can not hold the price hanging at
this level for over a month.
“Foreign
buyers are the back bone of magnesium and if we are out of the market
it will put pressure on the price,” said the source. “ Chinese
suppliers must be sitting on hot iron now, and most of them have
started calling making offers which tells you how they are pressured to
sell.”
“Not
big tonnages of magnesium deals are going on in Europe as consumers are
on holidays,” said another trader. “We are expecting consumers back in
the market by early September to cover for 4th quarter, but the price
is stable right now.”
Although
the price keeps stable at the moment, many people have a lot of
magnesium in stock and they must sell it before oxidation. Therefore,
many dealers are trying their best to sell. The source will sell 20t
today and the deal could be concluded at around USD4,400/t in Rotterdam
warehouse.