Magnesium still considered a risky market; supply challenges loom: 2022 preview Concerns about the state of the magnesium market have persisted into 2022 after a volatile 2021 - a year in which consumers had to contend with an acute shortage of material. Buyers this year face issues including low availability, stronger environmental controls and logistics constraints at a time of increased project development outside China. With magnesium supply hit by rising coal costs in China, spot prices rallied by 157% on average between September and October. Given that China was producing around 90% of the world’s magnesium, the shortage caused concerns at aluminium smelters and diecasters in the West. European trade groups even warned of the potentially “catastrophic” effects of a magnesium supply shortage on metals producers in the region. Since November, market prices have stabilized due to improved availability of material in European ports. Fastmarkets assessed the price of magnesium 99.9%, in-whs Rotterdam at $8,100-8,600 per tonne on December 31, stable amid limited activity. And in the first pricing session of 2022, on Friday January 7, Fastmarkets assessed it at $8,550-9,050 per tonne, up by.
