Slight decline in China’s special alloys market

Affected by the sluggish performance in the finished steel market, the Chinese special alloys market became gradually slack, with minor reduction observed in prices of both ferromolybdenum and ferrovanadium over the past week. Looking at the current situation, the domestic alloys market is characterized by an overall softness, while the international market remains on the rise.

Over the past week the Chinese ferromolybdenum market performed quite soft, with decline seen in quotations in various regoins. By the end of last week, the mainstream prices of ferromolybdenum in Jingzhou were down by RMB 10,000-15,000/mt ($1,464-2,196/mt) to the range of RMB 170,000-180,000/mt ($24,890-26,354/mt), while the market prices of molybdenum concentrate (45 percent) have declined by RMB 100/mt ($15/mt) to RMB 2,550-2,600/mtu ($373-380/mtu). Meanwhile, the European market also continued its upward trend. European market prices of ferromolybdenum (60 percent Mo) are up to $42.75-44.1/kg Mo, while prices of molybdenum oxide in this market are at $18.3-18.7/lb.

Against the background of the increased stocks at various producers, market prices of ferromolybdenum in China moved down by a small margin over the past week. Due to the shrinking trading volume and increased sales pressure, traders in Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu, and Shanghai started to sell their stocks at lower prices, driving down the market prices to a certain extent. It is estimated that downward room is still available for the future market with the growing supplies of molybdenum concentrate.

During the past week the Chinese ferrovanadium market slid slightly down. Domestic quotations of ferrovanadium (50 percent) have fallen RMB 5,000/mt ($732/mt) to the range of RMB 125,000-130,000/mt ($18,302-19,034/mt), with vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) staying at RMB 115,000-120,000/mt ($16,837-17,570/mt). Meanwhile, in the international market, quotations of vanadium pentoxide (98 percent flakes) in Europe are still at $6-7/lb, while market quotations of ferrovanadium (V70-80%) are up to €33.8-34.8/kg.

In the context of the declining levels in the domestic finished steel market, the Chinese vanadium alloys market slipped down slightly during the past week. On account of the excessive price rise of ferrovanadium and limited real market demand, traders became eager to sell off their materials while the finished steel market entered a phase of downward movement. In addition, despite the continuous ascension in the international market, the global price levels are still lower than in the domestic market, thus contributing to the slack export market in recent days.