Over the past week, an overall weakness has been observed in the Chinese domestic special alloys market. In particular, a significant drop has appeared in the Chinese ferromolybdenum market due to weak demand and also due to the continuous price decline in the global markets. Meanwhile, the Chinese ferrovanadium market has registered a reduction of demand since the mills and traders have sufficient stocks right now and are unlikely to make large purchases in the near future.
Product Name | Specification | Place of Origin | Price (RMB/mt) | Weekly change (RMB/mt) | Price ($/mt) | Weekly change ($/mt) |
Ferromolybdenum | Mo60 | Jinzhou | 150,000 | -5,000 | 21,994 | -733 |
Ferrovanadium | V50 | Panzhihua | 111,000 | -1,000 | 16,276 | -167 |
During the week in question, market prices of ferromolybdenum in China have registered an overall decrease. Currently, the mainstream prices of ferromolybdenum in Jinzhou are at RMB 148,000-152,000/mt ($21,701-22,287/mt), down RMB 5,000/mt ($733/mt) while the market prices of molybdenum concentrate (45 percent) are around RMB 2,250/mtu ($330/mtu), down RMB 50/mt compared with the previous week. Meanwhile, European market prices of ferromolybdenum (60 percent Mo) are at $40.50-42/kg Mo, while prices of bottled molybdenum oxide in this market have fallen to $16-17/lb.
The Chinese ferromolybdenum market has seen a continuous softening during the past week. Although mills have started to purchase, the purchase price is relatively low at RMB 145,000-148,000/mt ($21,261-21,701/mt). Due to the reduction in purchase prices by mills in many regions such as Liaoning and Henan, a general price decline has been observed in the Chinese ferromolybdenum market. Currently, most mills are taking a wait-and-see stance, hoping for a further decline in prices. It is expected that the market will maintain its softening trend in the coming week.
The Chinese ferrovanadium market has also maintained its weak trend over the past week. Domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) are in the range of RMB 110,000-113,000/mt ($16,129-16,569/mt), with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) standing at RMB 100,000-103,000/mt ($14,663-15,103/mt), down RMB 1,000/mt in general. Meanwhile, in the international market, quotations of ferrovanadium have continued to rise with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) now at $7-7.5/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80) are at €32-34/kg.
Although the price increase observed in the international ferrovanadium market has provided some support for the Chinese market, business has slowed down with fewer inquires due to the weak demand from downstream industry and also due to the relatively sufficient inventories of mills and traders. During the week in question, few deals have been concluded, with most purchase prices at RMB 108,000-109,000/mt ($15,836-15,982/mt). Currently, some vanadium flake producers have lowered their price to RMB 100,000-102,000/mt ($14,663-14,956/mt), but still with few takers; meanwhile, other producers are sticking to the price level in the range of RMB 102,000-103,000/mt ($14,956-15,103/mt). Overall, a wait-and-see approach prevails in the market.