Japan Magnesium Demand to Drop by 1.1% in 2008

Japanese magnesium demand will decrease by 1.1% to 46,900 tonnes including export in 2008 from 2007 due to higher price for Chinese products, according to outlook by Japan Magnesium Association.

The demand including export renewed the record in 2007 for 2 years in a row. The demand for additive for alloyed aluminium increased by 8.3% from previous year due to strong demand for automobile.

Chinese magnesium offer price is around US$ 5,300 per tonne, which is more than double of a year earlier level. The price could increase when the supply could decrease due to production limit in China for Beijing Olympic game in August.

Japanese domestic demand increased by 1.2% to 46,576 tonnes in 2007 from 2006. The demand including export increased by 0.9% to 47,435 tonnes. The demand decreased by 3.9% to 11,895 tonnes for alloyed magnesium and by 2.9% to 9,640 tonnes for die-casting.

The demand will decrease by 2.8% to 31,500 tonnes for additives in 2008 from 2007 when the higher price reduces the demand for steel desulfurizing. The demand increases by 3.7% to 10,000 tonnes for die-casting and by 2.6% to 12,200 tonnes for structural alloy.