Chinese ferrovanadium market sees weak mentality
2023-03-07 08:27:36 [Print]
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 7 Mar 23 - Though steel mills' inquiries stayed active during the past week, in view of the sufficient supply in spot market, Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min market mentality still kept weak. Currently, the mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min stand at RMB150,000-152,000/t (USD43.1-43.7/kg V) delivered D/A 180 days, down by RMB1,000/t (USD0.3/kg V) from middle last week. Considering that terminal users still need time to consume the current market inventory, insiders believe that the mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min would stay weak in the coming week.
"Steel mills' inquiries kept active during the past week, but bidding prices only stayed at around RMB152,000/t (USD43.7/kg V) delivered D/A 180 days, and none of our clients would like to purchase at any prices above this level," said a producer in Northeast China. They just sold 20t of ferrovanadium 50%min at this price level late last week. However, they refused to accept any order below RMB154,000/t (USD44.3/kg V) just one week ago. Considering that they face growing inventory pressure, they expect that the mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min would stay soft in the following week.
With a production capacity of 2,400tpy, they only produced about 290t in 2022 due to COVID-19 control and about 100t so far this year. They expect to produce about 30t this month, down by about 20t from last month due to the growing inventory, holding nearly 30t of stocks now, up by about 10t MoM.
"Traders could at most accept RMB150,000/t (USD43.1/kg V) delivered D/P for the moment as bidding prices stayed weak despite the active inquiries. In order to guarantee our sales volume, we have to accept it," said another producer in Northeast China. They last sold 10t of ferrovanadium 50%min at this level late last week but refused to sell at any prices below RMB151,000/t (USD43.4/kg V) one week ago. One of their regular clients only want to buy at around RMB147,000/t (USD42.2/kg V) this Monday and they didn't accept as they couldn't cover their basic production cost at this price level. Considering that raw material prices stayed soft and couldn't offer effective support, they believe that the mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min would keep weak in the coming week.
With an annual production capacity of 1,200t, they only produced about 240t in 2022 and about 50t in the first two months of 2023. They expect to produce about 25t this month, the same as last month. They have around 20t of stocks now, unchanged MoM.
"Steel mills' inquiries kept active during the past week, but bidding prices only stayed at around RMB152,000/t (USD43.7/kg V) delivered D/A 180 days, and none of our clients would like to purchase at any prices above this level," said a producer in Northeast China. They just sold 20t of ferrovanadium 50%min at this price level late last week. However, they refused to accept any order below RMB154,000/t (USD44.3/kg V) just one week ago. Considering that they face growing inventory pressure, they expect that the mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min would stay soft in the following week.
With a production capacity of 2,400tpy, they only produced about 290t in 2022 due to COVID-19 control and about 100t so far this year. They expect to produce about 30t this month, down by about 20t from last month due to the growing inventory, holding nearly 30t of stocks now, up by about 10t MoM.
"Traders could at most accept RMB150,000/t (USD43.1/kg V) delivered D/P for the moment as bidding prices stayed weak despite the active inquiries. In order to guarantee our sales volume, we have to accept it," said another producer in Northeast China. They last sold 10t of ferrovanadium 50%min at this level late last week but refused to sell at any prices below RMB151,000/t (USD43.4/kg V) one week ago. One of their regular clients only want to buy at around RMB147,000/t (USD42.2/kg V) this Monday and they didn't accept as they couldn't cover their basic production cost at this price level. Considering that raw material prices stayed soft and couldn't offer effective support, they believe that the mainstream prices of Chinese ferrovanadium 50%min would keep weak in the coming week.
With an annual production capacity of 1,200t, they only produced about 240t in 2022 and about 50t in the first two months of 2023. They expect to produce about 25t this month, the same as last month. They have around 20t of stocks now, unchanged MoM.
