Over the past week in China's special alloys market, ferromolybdenum prices have continued to rise sharply due to short supplies in the market while ferrovanadium prices have remained generally neutral.
Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Ferromolybdenum | Mo60 | Jinzhou | 133,000 | 4,000 | 19,617 | 590 |
Ferrovanadium | V50 | Panzhihua | 92,000 | - | 13,569 | - |
Over the past week China's domestic ferromolybdenum market has continued to trend upward. The mainstream quotations in the market are at RMB 131,100-135,000/mt ($19,350-19,941/mt), up another RMB 4,000/mt ($590/mt) week on week, while market quotations for domestic origin ferromolybdenum concentrate (45 percent grade) are currently at RMB 2,000-2,050/mtu ($295-303/mtu), up RMB 50-100/mtu ($7-15/mtu) week on week. International ferromolybdenum prices have turned around slightly, with the current prices of bottled molybdenum oxide at $14.6-15.1/lb and with the European delivery prices of 60 percent Mo at $38-40/kg Mo.
Due to the rainstorms and floods in many regions in China (in the provinces of Henan and Jilin for example), most domestic ferromolybdenum producers are faced with shortages of raw material, resulting in significant price increases in both molybdenum ores and ferromolybdenum. With the quotations of molybdenum ore trending up by RMB 100/mtu, the production costs for ferromolybdenum will increase by RMB 6,500/mt ($960/mt). Looking at the current market situation, with the molybdenum mines gradually recovering from the rainstorms and floods, it is thought that prices of ferromolybdenum may have limited room for upward movement in the coming period.
On the other hand, the Chinese ferrovanadium market has trended sideways during the past week. Domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) are now in the range of RMB 90,000-93,000/mt ($13,274-13,717/mt), with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) standing at RMB 82,000-85,000/mt ($12,094-12,538/mt), unchanged week on week. Meanwhile, in the international market, quotations of vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) are at $6.5-7.1/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80) are at €26.5-28/kg.
Although the steel market has been following a fluctuating upward trend, the ferrovanadium market has not been greatly impacted by this. Compared with the price idea of most steel producers at RMB 88,000-90,000/mt ($12,999-13,274/mt), offers from ferrovanadium producers have remained at RMB 91,000-92,000/mt. Looking at the current market situation, a wait-and-see atmosphere prevails in the ferrovanadium market, with the general expectation being that the market will trend stable in the coming period.