Chinese magnesia markets have seen limited transactions over the past week with demand muted and most overseas buyers reluctant to make deals because of firm prices.
The prices for all grades of China-origin magnesia remained unchanged this week in response to limited buying interest.
Overseas consumers had no immediate need to purchase and were waiting for clarity in the market, although high-grade magnesia products remained in tight supply because of a lack of high-quality raw materials.
The fob China price of DBM 90% MgO lump was $240-280 per tonne on Tuesday March 13, while 92% MgO material was priced $280-300 per tonne, both unchanged from the previous week.
Mid-grade magnesia 94-95% MgO prices were stable at $680-700 per tonne fob China while the price of 97.5% MgO material remained at $1,100-1,400 per tonne fob China on Tuesday.
"Supply of high-purity magnesia 97.5% MgO remained tight, and only a few producers can produce materials which guarantees the content of MgO reaching 97-97.5% because the government still exerts strict control on [the use of] explosives [in mining]. But trading activity remains slow this week," a Dalian trader told us.
"We have stopped signing long-term contracts with overseas buyers because of a lack of sufficient magnesia stocks, and negotiate prices with buyers according to each order currently," a producer in Haicheng said.
"One magnesia company in Haicheng had an accident with a gas poisoning last week, and most Haicheng magnesia producers have halted production for safety inspections," he added. "But this accident will have a limited effect on magnesia prices because of current weak demand from downstream consumers."
The markets for fused magnesia (FM) and caustic calcined magnesia (CCM) were flat this week, with prices unchanged. Overseas buyers were in no hurry to buy and submitted lower bids in an attempt to push prices downward.
The spot price of FM 97% MgO (Ca:Si 1:1) remained at $1,150-1,250 per tonne fob China on March 13, while the price of 97% MgO (Ca:Si 2:1) was stable at $1,250-1,400 per tonne.
"I received a bid at $1,100-1,150 per tonne for FM 97% MgO (Ca:Si 2:1) from an overseas customer this week, which was too low to accept because current prices are above $1,250 per tonne on the spot market," a trader in Dalian told us.
The fob China prices for CCM materials held steady this week at $205-230 per tonne for 90-92% MgO, $240-260 per tonne for 94% MgO, and $335-355 per tonne for 96% MgO.
"Because of the lack of high-quality magnesite, we do not have high-grade CCM 94% and 96% [available for sale] now," a trader in Dalian said. "CCM 90-92% MgO prices were stable, but demand hasn’t picked up."