Over the past week in China's special alloys market, ferromolybdenum prices have increased due to the price increase in raw materials, while ferrovanadium prices have in general remained neutral due to the weak demand in the market.
Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Ferromolybdenum | Mo60 | Jinzhou | 129,000 | 4,500 | 19,027 | 664 |
Ferrovanadium | V50 | Panzhihua | 92,000 | - | 13,569 | - |
Over the past week China's domestic ferromolybdenum market has registered some increase. The mainstream quotations in the market are at RMB 127,000-130,000/mt ($18,732-19,174/mt), up RMB 4,000/mt ($590/mt) week on week, while market quotations for domestic origin ferromolybdenum concentrate (45 percent grade) are currently at RMB 1,950/mtu ($280/mtu), with the lower end up RMB 50/mtu ($7/mtu) week on week. International ferromolybdenum prices have fluctuated slightly, with the current prices of bottled molybdenum oxide at $14-14.6/lb and with the European delivery prices of 60 percent Mo at $37.5-40/kg Mo.
China's ferromolybdenum market has in the past week observed increases in both price and transaction volume. These days the price of molybdenum ore is higher than the price of ferromolybdenum since quotations of molybdenum ore have rebounded to RMB 1,950/mtu ($280/mtu), equivalent to RMB 13,000/mt (19,174/mt) for the cost of ferromolybdenum. In this context, ferromolybdenum producers have started to raise the ex-mill prices of their products. Meanwhile, with some mills starting to make purchases, inventories held by ferromolybdenum producers have decreased to some extent, which may lead to an increase in the market price of ferromolybdenum. Furthermore, the upward trend in the global markets has offered some support for the price increase in the domestic market.
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 €28-29.5/kg.
Despite the significant price increase in the domestic steel market, the local Chinese ferrovanadium market has trended stable in the past two weeks, since sellers and buyers are engaged in a seesaw battle, with the mainstream prices of sellers remaining in the range of RMB 91,000-92,000/mt ($13,421-13,569/mt), compared with the price idea of RMB 88,000-90,000/mt ($12,979-13,274/mt) from mills and traders. As regards raw materials, vanadium pentoxide producers are reluctant to lower their prices, with few materials in the range of RMB 82,000-83,000/mt ($12,094-12,242/mt), while ferrovanadium producers are cautious about purchasing large volumes due to the weakness in end-user demand.