Prices for two grades of bauxite have ticked downward, as has the price for white fused alumina, but brown fused alumina remained stable, with the market said to be mostly flat on limited activity.

The markets for both bauxite and alumina continued to be weak in early March on slow demand flows in Europe and other consuming areas, while the evolution of the supply situation in China remained unclear.

Fastmarkets assessed the price of calcined bauxite, 85%, at $400-420 per tonne fob China on Thursday March 7, against $410-430 per tonne previously.

The corresponding price assessment for calcined bauxite, 86%, was $420-440 per tonne fob China on the same day, down from $430-450 per tonne earlier.

Fastmarkets’ price assessment for calcined bauxite, 87%, remained unchanged on Thursday at $450-470 per tonne fob China, while the price ofcalcined bauxite, 88%, remained at $470-490 per tonne fob China. The prices for 87% and 88% material dropped by $20-30 per tonne in the previous assessments on February 21.

Market participants spoke of widespread weakness across the market at the moment, especially on the demand side.

The majority of consumers had contracted their supplies in advance for the first part of the year, and many were covered for most of the first half. The slowdown in European industrial indicators, visible since the third and fourth quarters of 2018, also played a part in damping market activity.

As a result, the industry was not taken by surprise by the current weakness.

A number of sources noted, however, that the slowdown has gone further than expected.

«We all knew that this year was going to be slower than 2018, so it’s not necessarily a surprise,» one importer said. «What is notable, though, is that the drop in inquiries has been more significant than we forecast.»

A producer added: «There may have been some excess of optimism on the part of customers at the end of last year. Business has slowed more than expected.»

The number of new passenger car registrations in the EU decreased by 4.62% year-on-year in January 2019, making it the fifth consecutive month of decline, the European Automotive Manufacturers Assn (ACEA) said on Friday February 15.

New car sales in Europe totaled 1,195,665 units in January 2019, compared with 1,253,596 vehicles sold in the corresponding month of 2018.

«The European passenger car market saw a slow start to the year, posting a 4.6% decline compared with one year ago,» ACEA said. «Nevertheless, with nearly 1.2 million units registered in total, this still represents the second-highest January volume on record since 2009.»

Car production was affected by the introduction of emissions testing under the new Worldwide harmonized Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) on September 1 last year, in anticipation of which there had been an exceptional surge in registrations over the summer.

As a result, demand for new cars fell in most EU countries in the closing months of 2018 and this continued in January. This negative trend, however, was expected to be short-lived and the market should be back to normal in the first quarter, according to market sources.

In the meantime, the European Commission (EC) has imposed definitive safeguard measures on a list of imported steel products, in the form of tariff rates and a range of quotas that are partly annual and country-specific and partly quarterly and global. These came into effect on February 2.

The EC split the hot-dipped galvanized (HDG) coil product category into two sub-categories, 4a and 4b, with material in the latter group being used mainly by the automotive sector.

Market sources believed that this change was made in response to a request from European carmakers, which voiced their concerns that the quotas proposed in January would injure the automotive industry.

But the quotas set for HDG were likely to result in lower import volumes of the material for both the automotive sector and other end-users, according to market sources. Buyers will probably have to source more material from domestic suppliers, which will allow European mills to increase their domestic HDG prices

Fastmarkets’ weekly price assessment for domestic HDG in Northern Europe was unchanged at €610-630 ($688-711) per tonne ex-works on February 13.

The assessment reflected the «achievable» price in the market, while mills in the region were targeting higher prices in light of the definitive decision in the safeguard case.

On average, about 900 kg of steel is used in each car, according to the World Steel Association (Worldsteel). weakened recently because buyers had already restocked, sources said.

China’s exports of all grades of magnesia were up in 2018 on an annual basis, and export prices kept firm on mining restrictions and strict environmental inspections.

China exported 747,073 tonnes of caustic calcined magnesia (CCM) in 2018, according to official Chinese data – up by 14.31% from 653,528 tonnes in 2017 in response to growing overseas demand.

Export values totaled $132.75 million, an increase of 36.64% year on year from $$97.15 million in 2017, while the average CCM export price rose by 19.46% to $178 per tonne. Prices were supported by mining restrictions and the strict environmental inspections in China which caused a reduction in mined raw materials.

The five largest importers of Chinese CCM in 2018 were Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Indonesia.

CCM prices have remained firm throughout 2018 and in early 2019 on tight supply as China’s
government continues to restrict the use of explosives in mining. Fastmarkets assessed the magnesia, calcined, 90-92% MgO, fob China price at $180-220 per tonne on Tuesday  anuary 29, a level it has held since March 2018.

Fused magnesia exports

China exported 523,921 tonnes of fused magnesia (FM) in 2018, up 22.33% from 428,277 tonnes in 2017. Export revenue was $453.81 billion in 2018, up 87.10% from $242.55 million in 2017, customs data showed.

The five principal destinations for exports were the US, the Netherlands, Japan, Turkey and South Korea.

Fastmarkets IM’s price of fused magnesia, basis 97% MgO, Ca:Si 2:1, lump, fob China, was $1,200- 1,300 per tonne on Tuesday. This is up from $745-800 per tonne in July 2017 but down from $1,600- 1,800 per tonne at the start of 2018.

dead burned magnesia exports

Chinese dead burned magnesia (DBM) exports totaled 989,226 tonnes in 2018, up 11.88% from 884,203 tonnes in 2017.

Export revenue was $368.74 billion in 2018, up 85.07% year on year from $199.24 million, according to customs data.

The US, Japan, the Netherlands, South Korea and India were the five main export  destinations.

The latest spot price for DBM basis 97.5% MgO, lump, fob China was $1,050-1,250 per tonne on Tuesday compared with $365-395 per tonne in July 2017 and $630-740 per tonne at the start of 2018.

Extracts of various articles from Refractory Window

Year to Date to Jan 2019, Production in 000’ Tons

Chinese export prices for fused magnesia (FM ) and dead burned magnesia (DBM) have gone on a downtrend, tracking recent falls in the domestic market after production resumed in Dashiqiao.

Chinese domestic prices for fused magnesia (FM) and dead-burned magnesia (DBM) have been on a downtrend since production was resumed by most magnesia producers in the city of Dashiqiao in Liaoning province, which in turn led to rising stock levels.

Dashiqiao closed all its DBM kilns, and some FM kilns, in October 2019 because of pollution-limitation inspections. But production has gradually resumed this yearwith producers meeting new emissions standards, increasing the domestic supply.

Exporters have also lowered their prices because of the falls in domestic prices.

Although magnesia prices drifted lower, downstream buyers showed limited buying interest because of the approach of the Lunar New Year holiday on February 4-10. Transport movements will begin to stop gradually from this week.
Fastmarkets’ assessment of the price for FM, 97% MgO (Ca:Si 1:1), was $950-1,050 per tonne fob China on Tuesday January 22, down from $1,000-1,100 per tonne the week before. The price for FM, 97% MgO (Ca:Si 2:1), was $1,200-1,300 per tonne on the same day, down week on week from $1,250-1,350 per tonne.

«Magnesia prices have fallen by 300-600 yuan [$44-88] per tonne in the domestic market on increased material availability, and we lowered our export prices this week following the domestic downtrend. While we have received a few inquiries, no deals have been concluded yet,» an exporter in Dalian told Fastmarkets.

«Magnesia prices are in a mess ahead of the Lunar New Year, with some suppliers selling at lower prices to boost cash flow, but some high-quality magnesia prices remained at a high level,» a trader said.

The price of DBM, 90% MgO, lump, was $230-260 per tonne fob China on January 22, down from $240-270 per tonne in the previous week.

The price for DBM, 97.5% MgO, lump, fell to $1,050-1,250 per tonne fob China on Tuesday from the previous $1,100-1,300 per tonne, while the price for DBM, 94-95% MgO, lump, was assessed at $580-630 per tonne fob China, also on Tuesday, down from $600-650 per tonne last week.

«We do not have a purchasing plan before the Lunar New Year,» a buyer said, «but we will watch the market carefully to see whether the Liaoning [regional] government will release explosives for use in mining in the first half of 2019.»