Chinese vanadium alloys prices climb up

Last week, Chinese vanadium alloys market posted a certain improvement in the context of the general optimistic market atmosphere. Meanwhile, domestic ferromolybdenum market went stable, with the upward movement observed in international market.

Following the rebound in the previous week, China's domestic ferromolybdenum market moved on a stable trend throughout the past week. By the end of last week, the mainstream prices of ferromolybdenum in Jingzhou were in the range of RMB 105,000-110,000/mt ($15,373-16,129/mt), while the market prices of molybdenum concentrate (45 percent) have risen by RMB 50/mt ($7/mt) to RMB 1,650/mt ($234/mt), against the background of quite active commercial activities.

In the past week, the international molybdenum alloys market retained its rising trend on the whole. Currently, in the European market prices of ferromolybdenum (60 percent Mo) are in the range of $23-24.5/kg Mo while prices of molybdenum oxide are up $0.5/lb to $9-10/lb. Currently, since many Chinese ferromolybdenum producers still maintain halts to their operation, plus the relatively big export volume, the domestic ferromolybdenum market is expected to see a small rise in the future. Meanwhile, driven by the increased international market, prices of molybdenum concentrate (45 percent) in the domestic market have risen to RMB 1,650/mt ($234/mt), accompanied with the quite active commercial activities. In addition, Chinese mills made many purchases in recent days, with the purchase prices mainly in the range of RMB 102,000-105,000/mt ($14,956-15,373/mt).

The Chinese vanadium alloys market registered a minor rebound over the past week, with most players adopting a wait-and-see stance. At present, domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) are around RMB 90,000/mt ($13,196/mt), with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) up by RMB 2,000/mt ($293/mt) to RMB 83,000-85,000/mt ($12,170-12,463/mt). Meanwhile, in the international market, the quotations of vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) in Europe are at $3.6-4.2/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80%) are in the range of $17.5-19/kg V.

Affected by the material stock-up of some traders, the domestic vanadium alloys market began to sense tight availability in recent days, with certain upward movement observed in market prices. In addition, due to the steady price levels of vanadium pentoxide, production costs of ferrovanadium also climbed up accordingly. Currently, it is quite hard to buy in vanadium pentoxide at low price levels, with quotations even up to RMB 85,000/mt ($12,463/mt) according to some producers. However, without any remarkably recovery seen in overall market demand and with no increased purchases made by mills, most market players still look cautious as regards the trading.