[ferro-alloys.com] Vanadium market is relatively weak and stable this week, offers from many enterprises do not change, but vanadium market has already adjusted more than half of a month, there is no lack of enterprises surrender part of profits to sell goods, and the actual concluded price tended to be weak. Vitality in the market has enhanced to some extent, traders’ positivity of selling goods has increased and inquiry and purchasing in the market also has increased this week.

Hubei Province carried out environmental protection inspection, and plants reduce or stop production, spot goods in vanadium market will reduce another 200 to 300 tons per month. Spot Ferrovanadium has sold more in Hebei District, and the concluded price is lower than other districts. Price of raw material is high, and the old goods impact the Ferrovanadium at high price, many Ferrovanadium plants stop production in Northeast China District. Soar of vanadium price this round and shrink of supply is resulting from the environmental protection inspection instead of being driven by demand, sustainable price depends whether demand would be back in September.  

A revision to the standard tensile strength of rebar products in China may see vanadium metal consumption in the country grow by 30% or 10,000 tonnes per year. The [revision] has been forwarded to the Standardization Administration of China and is very likely to be formally released in September, according to an official at the China Iron & Steel Research Institute (CISRI), who was involved in the drafting of the document.

On August 24, plans put forward in Comprehensive Treatment of Air Pollution in The Autumn and Winter of 2017 And 2018 in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei And Surrounding Areas, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei atmospheric contamination transmission path “2+26”cities PM 2.5 average concentration will be down above 15% year-on-year from October 2017 to March 2018 and heavy pollution days will be down above 15% year-on-year. Meanwhile, steel, non- ferrous and cement industries will reduce or stop production overall, steels like steels in Tangshan city will cut 50% production in heating season. Under the three situations of strict, neutral and loose environmental protection and production limitation in heating season, corresponding to production reduction of steel is 31 million tons, 28 million tons and 26 million tons respectively, accounting for 11.7%, 10.8% and 9.8% of crude steel production in the same period in 2016 in heating season. Besides, "price of steel in following market will not be significantly higher, and it will remain a fluctuation operation", China Steel Association released a July analysis of China steel market on Tuesday.

From the above information, good news and bad news interlace in vanadium market. Mentalities of enterprises are different, divided into three mentalities of taking for a further rise, maintenance of stability and entering in downward trend, enterprises who take for further rise believe that there is still rise space and their offers maintain at a high level even covering goods to wait a higher price; enterprises who take for maintenance of stability believe that there are many problems to be solved for environment, change idea and gradually improve, so vanadium price would experience a longer transition period during which adjust at a high level, from the increase of vanadium cost and the amplification of application, vanadium market will not fluctuate much in the short term; enterprises who take for entering in downward trend believe that after rise of vanadium price was hindered, and vanadium market traded sideways for more than half of a month, uncertain factors is more and more that risk increases, so the vanadium price will be down. 

• [Editor:Wang Linyan]