CRU: Vanadium Prices Face a Turbulent 2019
Date: Apr 10, 2019
LONDON, April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Vanadium prices rose sharply from mid-2017 through November 2018, sending investor interest, and end-user concerns, soaring in this often-overlooked commodity.
Since reaching a peak in November 2018, European ferrovanadium (FeV) prices declined 35% in December 2018 as speculators began to unwind their positions and markets reacted to weaker than expected demand from steelmakers in China.
Uncharacteristically for the usually volatile vanadium market, European FeV prices have since settled in a narrow $70-75 /kg trading range throughout Q1 2019, creating the impression of relative price stability amid finely balanced competing market forces. While this was certainly true going into 2019, apparent price stability will not last for long if history is any guide.
This Insight from CRU – drawn from our recently published Vanadium Market and Cost Outlook to 2030 – examines how legislative changes and their implementation in China is affecting the market, what risks the market faces through the rest of the year and why apparent recent price stability will not last as the vanadium market faces a turbulent 2019 and beyond.
