Lower Chinese Mg Export Price

International magnesium market price turned into downturn after increase in April. The offer from China is CIF US$ 3,320-3,350 per tonne to Japan compared with US$ 3,370-3,420 in late April. The price decreases apparently when Chinese domestic supply gets loose due to slow export.

The offer from China reached US$ 3,400 per tonne in April from US$ 3,100 in late March. However, the price started to decrease in late April when the order decreased from offshore buyers.

Chinese export was around 40,000 tonnes including primary ingot, alloy ingot and powder of magnesium in March. The volume was around 80% higher than February level and hit the highest monthly volume after Lehman shock.

Chinese primary magnesium ingot export was 2,800 tonnes for Japan and 5,664 tonnes for Europe, which was 2.5 times and 2 times higher than February level. A source in Japanese major magnesium trader said the world buyers already secured the requirement in April-June.

Other trading firm source said the Chinese price could recover US$ 3,400 per tonne again after the adjustment. The cost factors could lift the magnesium price due to higher cost for energy and ferrosilicon along with higher yuan rate.