Tungsten Prices Fall with Long-Term Contract Procurement Prices Cuts - September 21, 2026

Analysis of Latest Tungsten Market from Chinatungsten Online

Yesterday, a tungsten enterprise in Jiangxi lowered its long-term contract procurement prices, causing spot market quotes to drift downward. Market participants were predominantly cautious and bearish, with the stalemate between buyers and sellers continuing. Currently, various segments of the tungsten industry chain are generally facing substantial funding pressures, intensifying the atmosphere of wait-and-see and game-playing in the market.

Upstream, tungsten ore resource circulation remains sluggish. The increase in imports has, to some extent, alleviated the tight supply-side pressure caused by domestic mining and trade policy constraints as well as declining mine grades. However, insufficient demand-side follow-up has suppressed the trend of ore prices. Although holders are reluctant to sell at lower prices, some have been forced to release some spot inventory for cash to ease turnover pressure. The price of 55% tungsten concentrate has been stuck at around RMB 400,000/standard ton.

Downstream cemented carbide and end-product manufacturers, due to high unit prices of raw materials and prolonged inventory destocking cycles for finished products, have seen a decline in capital turnover efficiency. Their initiative in purchasing raw materials has decreased, and their willingness to release large-scale orders is insufficient. They generally adopt a cautious, demand-based, order-by-order negotiation procurement strategy.

Under the stalemate and game-playing between upstream and downstream of the industry chain, the profit margins of intermediate smelting and powder enterprises continue to be squeezed, with transactions remaining sluggish. The bargaining for ammonium paratungstate (APT) is referenced against the long-term contract procurement price of RMB 580,000/ton, while quotes for tungsten powder and tungsten carbide powder have been adjusted to RMB 880/kg and RMB 840/kg, respectively.

As the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approach, the wait-and-see atmosphere in the tungsten market is becoming increasingly thick. There has been no significant release of pre-holiday stocking willingness. It is expected that the tungsten market will continue to maintain a weak oscillating trend in the short term. Subsequent attention should be paid to the supply-demand margins and changes in market sentiment in the fourth quarter.

According to data compiled by China Tungsten Online from the General Administration of Customs, in August 2026, China imported 5,505.79 tons of tungsten ores and concentrates, a year-on-year increase of 159.23% and a month-on-month increase of 39.60%. The growth was mainly driven by supplies of tungsten ores and concentrates from Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, such as Myanmar (2,557.56 tons, accounting for 46.5%), Mozambique (1,432.90 tons, accounting for 26.0%), Bolivia (408.90 tons, accounting for 7.4%), etc. China imported 767.00 tons of tungsten ores and concentrates from Kazakhstan, accounting for 13.9% of total imports, down 15.7% year-on-year and 23.9% month-on-month. In August, imports of tungsten oxide, tungsten carbide, tungsten powder, tungsten materials, and cemented carbide tools, among others, decreased overall.

Prices of Tungsten Products on September 21, 2026

Tungsten Price Trend from January to September 2026

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