Chinese Ferrovanadium Market Keeps Quiet
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 16 Jun 20 – Currently, mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min stand at RMB108,000-110,000/t (USD30.4-31.0/kg V) EXW D/P, down by RMB1,000/t (USD0.3/kg V) from late last week. Consumers only purchase according to urgent need and inquiries stay quiet. Through prices of raw material stay firm, considering most traders are in hurry to reduce their inventory now, insiders believe that mainstream prices of ferrovanadium would stay weak in the coming week.
“I didn’t receive any inquiry calls during the past week and even our regular clients refuse to purchase at the moment,” a producer in South China said. In normal, they would always receive 2-3 calls for inquiries per week, as prices of ferrovanadium started to drop, all of their regular clients prefer to watch the market. They dropped their bottom price by RMB2,000/t (USD0.6/kg V) from last week to RMB108,000/t (USD30.4/kg V) EXW D/P now. Their last deal was made two weeks ago, when they sold 20t at RMB104,000/t (USD29.3/kg V) EXW D/P. He received the current prices of vanadium pentoxide flake 98%min at RMB106,000/t (USD6.9/lb V2O5) EXW D/P, down by RMB3,000/t (USD0.2/lb V2O5) from early last week. Though prices of raw material still stay at a high price level, as inquiries are rare to see, he believes that mainstream prices of ferrovanadium 50%min would keep weak in the coming week.
With a production capacity of 1,000tpy, they only produced about 100t of ferrovanadium 50%min in 2019 as they changed production direction to vanadium nitride. They produced about 80t in the first five months this year. They expect to produce 20t in June according to their orders, unchanged from May, holding about 30t of regular stocks, the same as last month.
“We are in hurry to reduce the inventory pressure now. For firm bids more than 5t, we would like to sell at RMB107,000/t (USD30.2/kg V) EXW D/P,” a producer in North China said. They insisted on RMB108,000/t last week. They received any inquiry for 10t this Monday but the buyer only wanted to buy at no more than RMB104,000/t (USD29.3/kg V). He received the current market prices for vanadium pentoxide flake 98%min from major producers stand at RMB107,000/t (USD7.0/kg V) EXW D/A 180 days, unchanged from last week. Though the cost keeps firm, considering the market keeps calm, he believes that mainstream prices of ferrovanadium would keep steady in the coming week.
With an annual production capacity of 6,000t, they produced about 3,000t in 2019 and about 680t in the first five months this year. They expect to produce about 150t in June, unchanged from May, holding about 40t of safety stocks now, down by 25t from last month.
www.asianmetal.com
