Tantalum price maintains record high on logistics delays, demand boost

Healthy demand from the consumer electronics sector and shipping delays kept the tantalum concentrate price at its highest level on Fastmarkets records on Friday May 14.

Fastmarkets assessed the price of tantalite, basis 25% min Ta2O5, cif China at $75-78 per lb on Friday, level week on week at its highest since Fastmarkets started assessments in May 2020 - when it stood at $65-66 per lb.
The tantalum concentrate price has been moving higher since the beginning of February, following a slow start to the year, amid renewed end-user demand from the electronics and capacitors sectors and supply worries due to lockdowns in Rwanda, one of the largest suppliers of the metal.

"Buyers in China would buy whatever quantity, but no country seems to be able to ship," a tantalum trader...

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