Tight raw materials supply keeps APT price at two-year highs; alloy follows higher

Limited raw materials availability has continued to support the ammonium paratungstate (APT) price at two-year highs amid a pick-up in spot demand, with alloy prices following slightly higher.

Fastmarkets assessed the tungsten APT, 88.5% WO3 min, cif Rotterdam and Baltimore price at $263-268 per metric tonne unit (mtu) on Friday March 5, up from $260-265 per mtu in the previous week. The market continues to trade at its strongest since early June 2019, when the price stood at $260-270 per mtu, according to Fastmarkets' historical data.
"The market is moving up very fast," a supplier said. "Our customers are short of material and there is still a squeeze on the supply side."

The APT market is now up 14.2% since the beginning of the year, when it stood at $230-235 per mtu....

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