The Middle East war escalates, and the price of brown corundum is brewing a new rise
Release time:
2025-06-19
Recently, the situation in the Middle East has suddenly escalated. On June 13, Israel launched a military strike against Iran, which aroused great concern from the international community. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz suddenly became tense, and the international oil price once exceeded $100 per barrel. The global raw material supply chain once again faced huge challenges.
Affected by the war, the overall commodity market has strengthened, among which the brown corundum industry, as an important raw material in the field of refractory materials and abrasives, has also been significantly affected. Industry insiders said that although the war did not directly hit China's brown corundum producing areas, the signs of price increases have already appeared through the three paths of "energy-logistics-market expectations".
Energy costs are rising, and smelting pressure is increasing
The core raw material of brown corundum is high-alumina bauxite, and the main processing process of brown corundum is high-temperature smelting in an electric arc furnace. With the joint rise in international crude oil, coal, and electricity prices, smelters in China's main producing areas such as Henan and Shanxi face higher operating costs.
International orders are prepared in advance, and export prices are hot
The uncertainty brought by the war has driven international buyers to prepare in advance. In particular, the European and American markets are highly dependent on Chinese brown corundum. Some customers have even begun to place pre-orders for the first quarter of 2025. The export market shows a triple trend of "grabbing orders, delaying the deadline, and increasing prices". According to an export trading company, the recent export quotations of white corundum and brown corundum have risen by about 80~150 yuan/ton compared with May.
Military building materials stimulate downstream demand
In addition, the rising demand for military materials caused by the war may also stimulate new purchases of brown corundum by downstream application industries including special alloys, casting molds, and high-temperature ceramics. The industry believes that once the conflict becomes long-term, brown corundum is expected to enter a cyclical window of "price-capacity-profit" three consecutive increases.
Market Outlook: Finding Opportunities in Fluctuations
Although the price of brown corundum has not yet risen sharply, from the cost side, expectation side and international buying behavior, the subsequent price trend is likely to start a new round of rising channels in the third quarter. Experts suggest that relevant companies pay close attention to the development of the situation in the Middle East, lock in raw materials in advance, evaluate inventory strategies, and be alert to the indirect cost pressure brought by the simultaneous increase in shipping costs and insurance costs.
"We cannot control the war, but we must learn to find the rhythm in the chaos." A senior industry analyst said.
[Brief Comment]
The geopolitics of the Middle East once again reminds us that the security and stability of the industrial chain cannot tolerate any fluke. For industries with high energy consumption and high export dependence such as brown corundum, every global turmoil is both a challenge and may breed new opportunities.
