Tungsten Price Rises on Tight Supply

Tungsten is expected to have supply shortage issues in 2011 stemming from export restrictions from China. Due to supply issues the metal has been placed on a list of critical strategic metals by the U.S. and the European Union. Yesterday, China's second largest tungsten producer announced that it will shut down their plant for 3 months for a regular overhaul of the facility. This decrease in supply will put further pressure on supply in the first half of this year and may affect prices that are already around record levels. The price of tungsten APT has risen 81 percent year over year, from US$185 per MTU to its current price of $335 per MTU. Tungsten concentrate is trading at 111,000-113,000 yuan ($16,742-17,043) per tone on Wednesday, with prices in the higher end rising 1,000 yuan from last week, stated Metal Bulletin.