China’s ferrovanadium prices start to slip

While the Chinese ferromolybdenum market moved on a stable trend throughout the past week, a rise is very likely in the future given the recovery seen in the international market. Meanwhile, the domestic ferrovanadium market began to see a decline in its quotation levels in a context of weakening market demand.

Last week China's domestic ferromolybdenum market posted stable movement, with rising momentum still available for the future. By the end of last week, the mainstream prices of ferromolybdenum in Jingzhou were in the range of RMB 118,000-120,000/mt ($17,302-17,595/mt), while the market prices of molybdenum concentrate (45 percent) were around RMB 1,750/mtu ($257/mtu). Meanwhile, the international market registered a minor climb in the past week. Currently, European market prices of ferromolybdenum (60 percent Mo) are up by $1/kg to the range of $24.5-25.6/kg Mo, while prices of molybdenum oxide in this market are around $10-10.5/lb.

In the context of the climbing molybdenum oxide prices and tight availability in the international market, prices of molybdenum concentrate in the domestic market have registered a slight rise to the level of RMB 1,750/mtu ($257/mtu). Moreover, as a result of the climb in international molybdenum oxide prices, many Chinese molybdenum alloy producers have begun to buy and use domestic molybdenum concentrate. In addition, it is heard that domestic mills have increased their purchases in recent days, with purchase prices around the level of RMB 115,000/mt, still lower than the market levels.

The Chinese vanadium alloys market has been characterized by softness over the past week, while the international market has continued to maintained a rising trend. At present, domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) are in the range of RMB 96,000-99,000/mt ($14,056-14,495/mt), with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) down by RMB 1,000-2,000/mt ($146-293/mt) to RMB 88,000-92,000/mt ($12,884-13,490/mt). Meanwhile, in the international market, quotations of vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) in Europe have remained constant at $3.8-4.5/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80%) are up by €0.5/kg to €20-21.4/kg.

Last week, domestic market demand for vanadium alloys registered a weakening. With a reduced number of inquiries observed in the market, some traders lowered their quotations slightly. Furthermore, some vanadium pentoxide producers have also reduced their offers recently, leading to the overall downward movement in market deal prices. Currently, given the relatively high inventories of ferrovanadium in China's domestic market, local ferrovanadium prices are likely to slip further down as demand weakens.