Vanadium prices12 Jun 2018 13:47
EUROPEAN WRAP.
Tight availability continues to support European FeV market
The European ferro-vanadium market continued to strengthen over the past week, with supply of spot material tightening further.
Spot prices for European ferro-vanadium increased to $71-72 per kg on June 8, delivered duty-paid in Europe, up 2% from $69-71.20 per kg on June 6, according to latest Metal Bulletin’s assessment.
Prices have consistently been on the rise since bottoming out at $63.50-65 per kg on May 23, with prices now up 11.3% since that time.
Spot market demand got off to a strong start last week, but subsided as the week progressed, with some market participants opting to sit on the side-lines waiting for more clarity on pricing.
Despite the subdued spot demand from consumers during the second half of the week, however, traders continued to actively seek material with little success.
“Traders were profit-taking and have no stocks anymore. Now the producers aren’t selling to the traders and it has really tightened things up,” a supplier source said.
In addition to trader stocks running thin, Chinese exporters pulled back offers into Europe, leaving few options for traders looking to restock.
While availability of supply is expected to remain thin in the near term, market participants suspect prices may continue to run as more consumers are forced to enter the market.
The European vanadium pentoxide market similarly experienced a sizeable jump last week, after supply limitations fueled sharp gains.