The same market that galloped higher through 2025 spent much of 2026 giving the gains back. By early July 2026, China Tungsten Industry Association (CTIA) price data showed most tungsten products trading more than 55% below their peaks, even though several remained above their start-of-year levels.
Reading the 2026 price sheet
- 65% wolframite concentrate: RMB 455,000/t — down 56.7% from peak.
- Domestic APT: RMB 660,000/t — down 56.6% from peak.
- Tungsten carbide powder: RMB 1,000/kg — down 57.3% from peak.
- Scrap tungsten carbide rod: RMB 780/kg — down 49.7% from peak.
Interestingly, European APT stayed far higher than domestic Chinese quotes, up more than 240% year-to-date — a reminder that the global market had fragmented into regional price pockets rather than one unified number.
Why prices softened
The CTIA attributed the slide to weak downstream demand and a loss of cost support. Toolmakers showed “little enthusiasm for stockpiling,” buying only immediate requirements, while lower long-term contract prices removed the floor that had underpinned APT. A June quote cut by a major Jiangxi producer triggered a broad repricing, though the association noted that “panic selling remains minimal.”
Correction, not collapse
A fall of this size can look alarming, but much of it is the unwinding of an unsustainable 2025 spike. For serious carbide manufacturers the opportunity is to lock in material at more rational levels, invest in grade efficiency and recycling, and avoid over-exposure to either extreme of a volatile cycle.
Figures compiled from China Tungsten Industry Association price reporting, July 2026.