FOCUS: European titanium scrap prices to stay strong through to 2022

The European titanium markets look set to remain buoyant through 2021 and well into 2022, with a shortage of titanium scrap underpinning both feedstock and alloy prices, according to industry sources.

The titanium scrap market may be in deficit until at least early 2022, sources said, and aerospace - a key supply sector - is expected to struggle to recover output after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The knock-on effect of scrap shortages and restrictive measures on population movement and social distancing due to national lockdowns has already led to cuts in ferro-titanium production. That in turn, has boosted demand and prices for other titanium metal grades such as commercially pure (CP) titanium ingot, along with slab and titanium sponge.

European prices for western grade ferro-titanium have increased to $4.40-4.70 per kg ddp on Wednesday, November 4, up from an annual low of $3.30-3.85 per kg in August. And with producers and traders having little material to spare for prompt demand - mainly due to longstanding contractual commitments - there is room for prices to realistically target $5 per kg by the end of the...

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