Tungsten Market Holds Firm at High Levels Amid Festive & Precious Metals Volatility

Despite volatile precious metals and the upcoming Spring Festival holiday, tungsten prices remain strongly supported by supply tightness and positive strategic value outlook. While cautious optimism prevails, trading activity is muted by capital pressure, high-price resistance, and seasonal factors.

Key products have seen sharp year-to-date gains: 

65% wolframite concentrate at RMB 655,000/mt (+42.4%), 

APT at RMB 970,000/mt (+44.8%), 

tungsten carbide powder at RMB 1,550/kg (+49.4%), and European APT at USD 1,

100–1,398/mtu (+35.8%). 

Scrap tungsten products also advanced strongly, with profit-taking limited. Overall, the market stays firm at elevated levels with subdued transaction volume.

Rising Hard Alloy Costs Create Pressure for the Drilling Tools Industry

As tungsten carbide powder prices continue climbing, the cost of producing hard alloys is rising in parallel.
Tungsten carbide is one of the core materials used in the drilling tools industry, and cost increases directly affect the following products:

DTH drill bits

Button bits

Chisel bits

Cross bits

Threaded bits

PDC products that include a hard-alloy matrix

For manufacturers, high raw material prices are compressing profit margins and forcing an adjustment in product pricing structures across the industry.

QIDELI Outlook: Industry Trends in a High-Cost Era

Based on feedback across the supply chain, there is still no clear sign of price correction in the short term.
Tight resource availability, strong market sentiment, and active capital inflows together indicate that tungsten prices will remain at elevated levels.

Against this backdrop, the drilling tools industry is expected to enter:

A cost-sensitive period

A product restructuring period

A phase of rising demand for high-quality products

QIDELI will continue to closely monitor upstream raw material price changes and provide clients with timely market insights and professional guidance.
QIDELI remains committed to quality-first principles, maintaining high standards in raw material sourcing and production process control.
Even in volatile market conditions, QIDELI will ensure stable product quality and reliable supply—a promise we uphold for our global customers as we face this new industry cycle together.