This week has seen both the European and US ferrotitanium prices sky-rocket because of high demand and limited availability within the steel industry.
The Platts European 70% Ti ferrotitanium price increased to USD 7.70-8.00/kg, delivered with duty-paid from last week’s USD 7.00-7.50/kg. The US price also rose to USD 3.32-3.42/lb, delivered in the US from the previous week’s price of USD 3.15-3.25.
The European producers are reportedly sold out and producers on both sides of the Atlantic claim long-term customers are taking the maximum quantities on their contracts, so spot material is very tight. A European producer has stated, “It’s a desert out there and nobody has any material…We’ve just come off two years of destocking and buying hand-to-mouth and now the upturn in demand has hit.”
The European producers are reportedly sold out and producers on both sides of the Atlantic claim long-term customers are taking the maximum quantities on their contracts, so spot material is very tight. A European producer has stated, “It’s a desert out there and nobody has any material…We’ve just come off two years of destocking and buying hand-to-mouth and now the upturn in demand has hit.”
European and US manufacturers have also noted that along with the ferrotitanium price increases, demand for stainless steel has also picked up and has the potential to remain strong. It is thought that a sustained period of high Ti ferrotitanium prices could result in a 30-35% production re-emerging.