Chinese hafnium prices are expected by market participants to hold stable in the coming weeks, as major producers intend to maintain offer prices given output cuts and steady international prices.
Argus launched four price assessments for hafnium for the Chinese market on 7 September, with the range for 99.95pc hafnium crystal bar with 0.2pc zirconium grade at 18,000-20,000 yuan/kg ex-works ($2,459-2,732/kg), stable compared with the level quoted by market participants a week earlier. Export prices were assessed at $2,700-3,000/kg fob China, in line with the domestic prices and moderate buying interest from international consumers.
"Mainstream offer prices for crystal bar have been stable at Yn18,000-19,000/t in the past few days as new buyers were unwilling to accept higher spot prices," a Baoji-based hafnium mill products manufacturer told Argus. It it is not buying crystal bar from the spot market given earlier gains in spot prices but has bought the material from regular suppliers at relatively low prices recently.
Spot buying interest has slowed in the past few days in response to lower purchases from trading firms. International prices stopped rising since the start of July, a Jiangxi-based crystal bar producer told Argus. "We are holding little to no inventories for spot buyers and have focused fulfilling contracts, expecting prices to hold firm in the coming weeks given output falls caused by tight feedstock supplies," the producer added.
Some spot buyers are reluctant to accept higher prices than Yn20,000/t for crystal bar, adopting a watchful approach as international prices have stabilised in the past couple of months following consecutive gains. A Jiangsu-based bar producer recently received a handful of buying enquiries from European consumers rather than the US, which has a 25pc duty on Chinese imports.
Argus last assessed prices for 99pc grade hafnium with 1pc zirconium at $6,800-7,100/kg warehouse Rotterdam on 5 September, stable from the assessment on 4 July, the highest since Argus launched this assessment in 2015, in response to limited trading activity.
Exporting hafnium from China requires a permit from the country's ministry of commerce, with international buyers to provide an end user statement. China exported 13,898kg of unwrought hafnium metal, scrap and powder during January-July, according to customs data. China began to publish separate export data for hafnium from this year.
Supply shortage
A shortage in oxide feedstock supplies, partly resulting from a limited number of producers and technological bottlenecks in the separation of hafnium and zirconium, has affected many metal producers' output.
A Jiangxi-based crystal bar producer suspended output on 6 September because of a lack of hafnium dioxide supplies, after it resumed operations in late August following a four-month suspension caused by environmental inspections. It has received limited buying enquires from the spot market and is supplying contracted buyers from inventories.
A Jiangxi-based oxide producer expects that oxide availability will continue to tighten in the coming weeks as many oxide producers are unwilling to sell while waiting for higher prices. "We have stopped accepting new orders and focused on fulfilling contracts," said a producer source.
Many oxide producers have also switched their output to hafnium tetrachloride with large volumes to supply the chip industry given firm demand. Hafnium oxide can also be used to produce hafnium tetrachloride, which is used in manufacturing semiconductor chips.
Argus first assessed domestic prices for 99.95pc hafnium ingot with 0.5pc zirconium grade at Yn20,000-22,000/kg ex-works on 7 September in line with the unchanged bar feedstock costs. Export prices were at $3,000-3,300/kg fob over the same period in line with moderate demand from seaborne consumers.
