Vanadium Market Update (March 15, 2012)

By Karan Kumar – Exclusive to Vanadium Investing News 

Spot ferrovanadium prices remained unchanged this week in a range of $14.50 to $14.90 a pound on an in-warehouse basis in the US market. The prices were slightly higher than three weeks ago, when they were in the range of $14.50 to $14.75 a pound.

Chinese ferrovanadium prices have continued to stabilize in March, within a range of 76,000 yuan to 78,000 yuan  per metric ton for V2O5 (98%), with industry insiders saying prices for ferro alloys were unlikely to move up in the next few days as supply in China is sufficient and demand from the steel sector remains weak.

Wang Zhongwu, general manager, of Jinzhou Kohsei-Daye Ferroalloy Co. in China, told Metal-Pages in an interview this month that Chinese vanadium prices are unlikely to fall in the short-term due to a firm raw material market. He cautioned that the market “will be vulnerable if steel mills try to cut production in the next few years.” Most producers are operating at a very low capacity rate as they’re trying to stabilize the market by cutting or halting output at the moment.