2025-12-19
As of December 19, 2025, the price of 65% wolframite concentrate stands at RMB 430,000 per metric ton unit, a 200.7% increase since the beginning of the year.
The price of Ammonium Paratungstate (APT) is RMB 650,000 per ton, up 208.1% year-to-date.
As the year draws to a close, mining operations are reducing output, and APT producers are entering a year-end maintenance period, pushing productivity into a seasonal downturn. Since the beginning of this year, supply has already been tightening due to policy restrictions. During this particular year-end period, the supply of tungsten carbide raw materials has become even scarcer and more strained.
Against this overall trend, the entry of speculative demand has undoubtedly intensified the supply-demand imbalance in the tungsten carbide raw material market.
From the supply side, producers in this environment are choosing to hold inventory and limit sales, striving to fulfill contractual commitments or meet their own needs. The procurement model has shifted from uniform pricing to case-by-case negotiations. Downstream companies must now pay in full immediately to lock in prices to secure sufficient raw materials for their own production.
Consequently, many finished tungsten carbide product manufacturers are not only bearing the pressure of sharply rising raw material costs but also facing uncontrollable risks due to cash flow constraints.
Looking back over the year, since early this year, policy impacts have tightened the mining of tungsten ore, leading to a decline in ore quality. Reduced supply coupled with growing global demand has driven raw material prices higher. The influx of speculative demand and the year-end drop in productivity have further exacerbated this supply-demand imbalance. For the foreseeable future, raw material prices are expected to remain elevated.
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