Magnesium Market Update (October 24, 2012)

Magnesium prices have moved down in recent weeks due to a depletion of end-user demand.

In China, 99.9 percent min magnesium ingot traded between RMB 17,800 and RMB 18,350 a tonne this past week, compared to prices over RMB 18,500 in August. Low-magnesium, battery-grade mischmetal has also fallen, and is sitting at about RMB 150,00 per tonne compared to the RMB 180,000 to RMB 190,000 per tonne seen in the last two months, reported Metal-Pages.

Magnesium min 99.9 percent also slipped in Europe, trading between 3,150 and 3,200 euros a tonne compared to 3,250 euros a tonne in August.

A lack of buyers is responsible for the drop in demand for mischmetal, Metal-Pages quoted a source at a northern Chinese supplier as saying. The magnesium ingot market is also trading thin due to suppliers preferring not to accept the low prices that foreign buyers are offering for the metal.

In other market news, Rus Business News reported that East Siberian Metals has passed on an opportunity to build a new magnesium plant.

A Chinese company, Chaohu Yunhai, started producing magnesium alloy on a trial basis at its latest plant on October 8. Metal-Pages reported that the plant had an investment of US$158 million and has an annual production of 50,000 tonnes of magnesium alloy.