China W market under pressure amid Fanya auction

The Chinese tungsten market is expected to come under downwards pressure from a possible auction of ammonium paratungstate (APT) stocks from the bankrupt Fanya metal exchange.

The country's Yunnan government is likely to post 29,651t of APT stocks next week for auction on domestic e-commerce platform Alibaba, market participants said.

The intermediate court of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, on 15 August posted 18,661t of antimony metal, 149t of dysprosium oxide and 4t of terbium oxide for auction at the end of this month.

The starting price for the tungsten auction is likely to be 20-25pc lower than spot prices, which have been unchanged at 110,000-112,000 yuan/t ($15,520-15,800/t) since 8 August. Suppliers have kept offer prices firm and reduced output amid tighter profit margins. Spot trading activity has been weak with most market participants observing the market because of the possible auction.

Some tungsten companies including China Minmetals, Jiangxi Tungsten, Zhangyuan Tungsten and Xiamen Tungsten are expected to buy the stocks. Fanya's APT stocks account for 20-30pc of China's yearly production. The country produced around 109,000t in 2017 and 126,000t in 2018.

Fanya's APT stocks being auctioned are expected to weigh on the spot market, as the four main companies may use the stocks as feedstock to produce tungsten powder and cemented carbide and then reduce their purchases of APT and tungsten concentrate from producers.

Demand for APT from the cemented carbide industry has fallen since the start of this year. Demand for cutting tools, the downstream sector for cemented carbide, has dropped by 50pc from a year earlier since June because of an economic slowdown during the China-US trade war. China's exports of cutting tools fell by 10pc in the first quarter of 2019.

The Kunming court held two auctions of indium stocks from Fanya earlier this year. The auctions pushed down prices for 99.99pc grade indium metal to the lowest level since at least November 2006.

Fanya's reported stocks also included 19,228t of bismuth, 18,661t of antimony and 191t of gallium.