Proposal to launch tungsten concentrate, basis CIF Rotterdam, Baltimore price assessment

Based on feedback from market participants, Fastmarkets is proposing the new price as a way to provide greater transparency into trade flows outside China.

We will use CIF Rotterdam and CIF Baltimore as a basis, in line with MB-W-0001 Tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min cif Rotterdam and Baltimore duty-free, $/mtu WO3.

The new assessment will be separate from our existing price assessment for MB-W-0002 Tungsten concentrate 65% WO3, in-whs China, yuan/tonne.

Market participants have said an assessed price could be a viable and helpful addition, as a way to provide price visibility more aligned to concentrate trading.

Fastmarkets will also accept price data expressed as a percentage of the APT price, as well as openly negotiated prices for tungsten concentrate.

The proposed specification is as follows:

Tungsten concentrate, basis 50-70% WO3, spot price, basis CIF Rotterdam, Baltimore, $/mtu WO3
Quality: Powder, free flowing. WO3 50-70%, Mo 1% max, U + Th 0.05% max, SiO2 typically ≤25%, radioactivity typically 0.4-0.6 Bq/g and below class 7 hazardous material
Quantity: Min 20 tonnes
Location: Basis CIF Rotterdam or CIF Baltimore (other locations normalized)
Timing: For material arriving within three months
Unit: USD per mtu WO3
Payment terms: 30 days (other payment terms normalized)
Publication: Weekly. Friday, 2-3pm London time
Notes: Prices expressed as a percentage of Fastmarkets’ price assessment for MB-W-0001 Tungsten APT 88.5% WO3 min Europe, cif Rotterdam and Baltimore duty-free, $/mtu WO3 may be included, and will be recorded in $/mtu, using the midpoint of the latest published APT range.

This price would form part of Fastmarkets’ ores and alloys physical price package.

The consultation period for this proposed launch starts from Monday November 10 and will end on Monday December 8. The launch will take place, subject to market feedback, on Friday December 19. 

To provide feedback on this price or if you would like to provide price information by becoming a data submitter to Fastmarkets’ tungsten prices, please contact us by email at ores_alloys@fastmarkets.com and pricing@fastmarkets.com. Please add the subject heading “re: tungsten concentrate, basis 50-70% WO3, spot price, CIF global, $/mtu WO3.”

Please indicate if comments are confidential. Fastmarkets will consider all comments received and will make comments not marked as confidential available upon request.

To see all Fastmarkets pricing methodology and specification documents, go to the Fastmarkets methodology page.