Magnesium ingot market stable

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 16 Jun 09 – Magnesium ingot market keeps stable by and large despite that some smelters raise offers slightly in hopes of pushing the market up. Currently the prevailing prices for magnesium ingot stay at RMB14,800-14,900/t (USD2,164-2,178/t) ex works in Shaanxi and RMB15,100-15,300/t (USD2,208-2,237/t) ex works in Shanxi and Ningxia, unchanged compared with those in the past week.
A North China-based trader bought around 100t of magnesium ingot from a Shaanxi-based smelter at around RMB14,800/t (USD2,164/t) ex works on Monday. The source reported that the market is stable, though one or two smelters raise their offers by RMB50-100/t (USD7-15/t) to RMB14,900-15,000/t (USD2,178-2,193/t) ex works in the name of unavailability of material.
"Actually, the market is in sufficient supply in Shaanxi, and some smelters still have considerable amount of magnesium ingot in stock," said the source. Therefore, the source holds that the price is mostly likely to keep stable in the following two weeks.
Meanwhile, the source predicts that the price may experience a tiny increase in the second half of July owing to decrease in production and also reduced stockpile in the market. According to the source, as blue coke does not sell well, many coke plants in Shaanxi are facing the danger of cutting down output and thus might affect the magnesium production. Additionally, with summer deepening, some magnesium ingot smelters may also reduce output due to the hot weather.
A Shanxi-based producer sold 30-40t of magnesium ingot at RMB15,100/t (USD2,208/t) ex works in the middle of last week and has not closed any business since then. "I feel the market is stable," said the source. "I heard that some smelters are trying to push the price up slightly but I don't think they can succeed."
Running at half of the production capacity of 1,000tpm, the smelter holds a stock of around 200t. The source calls for a stable market for magnesium ingot. "If the price rises significantly either out of strong demand or market manipulation, more smelters will resume production stimulated by higher price. In that case, the market will be at stake again," the source stated.
Meanwhile, the source confirmed that most smelters in Shanxi and Ningxia put their offers at RMB15,100-15,300/t (USD2,208-2,237/t) ex works and the price is RMB200-300/t (USD29-44/t) lower in Shaanxi.