China's special alloys market continued its softening trend during the past week. A continuous price decline has been observed in both the ferromolybdenum and ferrovanadium markets, with few deals concluded mainly because domestic steelmakers generally lack optimism regarding the prospects for the market and are thus adopting a cautious approach towards purchases of special alloys.
Product name | Specification | Place of origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Ferromolybdenum | Mo60 | Jinzhou | 146,000 | -1000 | 21,408 | -147 |
Ferrovanadium | V50 | Panzhihua | 106,000 | -1000 | 15,543 | -147 |
China's domestic ferromolybdenum market has continued its softening trend over the past week. The mainstream quotations in the market are at RMB 145,000-148,000/mt ($21,262-21,701/mt), down RMB 1,000/mt ($147/mt) week on week, while market quotations for domestic origin ferromolybdenum concentrate (45 percent grade) are at RMB 2,200-2,250/mtu ($323-330/mtu), down RMB 50/mtu ($7/mtu) week on week. International prices have also trended downwards slightly, with the current prices of bottled molybdenum oxide at $16.5-17.15/lb and with the European delivery prices of 60 percent Mo at $39.8-42/kg Mo.
Currently, due to the weakness witnessed in the special steel market, purchases of special alloys in China have stagnated. It is heard that mills have lowered their purchase price for ferromolybdenum to RMB 142,000/mt ($20,821/mt). Looking at the current situation, due to weak demand it is thought that the domestic ferromolybdenum market may continue to follow a downward trend in the coming period.
On the other hand, the Chinese ferrovanadium market trended down slightly during the past week. Domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) are now in the range of RMB 104,000-108,000/mt ($15,249-15,982/mt), down RMB 1,000/mt ($147/mt) week on week, with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) standing at RMB 95,000-98,000/mt ($13,930-14,370/mt), down RMB 2,000/mt ($293/mt) week on week. Meanwhile, in the international market, quotations of ferrovanadium have also witnessed a slight price decline, with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) remaining at $7.45-7.85/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80) have decreased by €0.5/kg to €33-34/kg.
Currently, slower activity is observed in the local ferrovanadium market. It is heard that, due to the relatively sufficient levels of ferrovanadium inventories in mills' warehouses, most domestic steelmakers have suspended their purchases and switched to wait-and-see mode. Although some companies have been trying to attract customers with lower prices, the market is fairly silent as regards transactions. On the vanadium pentoxide side, while some producers are inclined to sell at RMB 95,000/mt ($13,930/mt), most ferrovanadium companies do not intend to enter the market, mainly due to the uncertainties in the ferrovanadium market in the coming period.