China’s ferrovanadium prices bounce back

China's domestic special alloys market registered a slight overall rise during the past week. Given the soaring movement in the international market, ferrovanadium quotations in the domestic market moved up in spite of abundant supply and insufficient demand. Meanwhile, China's domestic ferromolybdenum market continued its steady rise over the past week.

China's domestic molybdenum alloys market was characterized by a continuous climbing trend throughout the past week. By the end of last week, the mainstream prices of ferromolybdenum in Jingzhou were up by RMB 2,000/mt ($293/mt) to the range of RMB 120,000-122,000/mt ($17,570-17,862/mt), while the market prices of molybdenum concentrate (45 percent) were around RMB 1,780-1,800/mtu ($261-263/mtu). Meanwhile, the European market still maintained its rising trend. European market prices of ferromolybdenum (60 percent Mo) are up slightly to $26-27.25/kg Mo, while prices of molybdenum oxide in this market are $10.5-10.9/lb, a climb of $0.4/lb week on week.

Remaining on a strong upward trend, market quotations of ferromolybdenum have reached RMB 120,000/mt ($17,570/mt). Meanwhile, it is heard that most mines have resumed production, with molybdenum concentrate prices up to the level of RMB 1,800/mt ($263/mt). In addition, against the background of stable demand both at home and abroad, China's finished steel market has appeared quite active in recent days, thus leading to expanding demand for ferromolybdenum in the various regions. Based on the current situation, China's domestic ferromolybdenum market is expected to continue to go up steadily in the short term.

Driven by the price rally in the international market, the Chinese ferrovanadium market rebounded by a small margin in the past week. At present, domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) are up by RMB 1,000-2,000/mt ($146-293/mt) to the range of RMB 95,000-97,000/mt ($13,909-14,202/mt), with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) remaining unchanged at RMB 88,000-90,000/mt ($12,884-13,177/mt). Meanwhile, in the international market, quotations of vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) in Europe have jumped sharply by $1.5/lb to $5.2-6/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80%) are up by €2.3-1/kg to €24.8-25.8/kg.

The European ferrovanadium market soared dramatically, by almost 10 percent in the past week. Considering the bullish international market, some Chinese ferrovanadium producers have hiked their export quotations slightly. As a result, it seems quite hard for local mills in China to buy in materials under the level of RMB 95,000/mt ($13,909/mt). In recent days, some optimistic players have stopped giving out quotations or have refused to sell materials at low price levels, preferring to hold on to their stocks and wait for the market to climb up. Since there are still plenty of supplies in the current market, most enterprises express a lack of certainty as regards the future.