GLOBAL VANADIUM WRAP: Prices find strength in China and Europe while upstream stocks tighten, traders restock
Date: Nov 06, 2017
Chinese and European vanadium prices bottomed out and started to recover last week after six weeks of falling but aggressive sales kept prices under pressure in the US.
Chinese market turns on V2O5 tightness and rising input costs for ferro-vanadium Recovery in China prompts trader restocking in Europe Aggressive selling pushes US prices lower; market participants hopeful of recovery Prices for vanadium products exported from China stabilized last week, underpinned by low stocks of vanadium pentoxide and firm ferro-vanadium production costs. Metal Bulletin assessed fob China V2O5 prices at $6.80-7.30 per lb on November 2, unchanged from a week ago, after a fall of 44.3% since early September. High production costs should keep prices well supported, market participants said. “The price at 96,000 yuan ($14,545) for the 700 tonnes of V2O5 sold late in October was far lower than production costs given the latest vanadium scrap prices… As far as I know one producer [that sold 700 tonnes, nearly 10% of China’s monthly output] was eager for cash to acquire a steel project and has almost sold out…
