As expected, the end of the year has not been the most exciting time for the ferro-vanadium market. Prices have slipped in Europe by over 1 dollars/kg over the past month; it is now trading in a range of 35.60-36.50 dollars/kg. This has not really moved for the past fortnight. It seems that the market may actually hold now for the remainder of the year. As described in the November issue of Ferro-alloys Monthly, there was a dearth of enquiries, and vanadium producers were having to cut their prices, and undercut their rivals, in order to stoke interest. This seems to have altered. There now seems to be a fear that there is not enough material available in Europe to meet demand once it picks up after the Christmas holiday. MBR understands there is very little material stocked in warehouses in Rotterdam, and this is beginning to cause consternation amongst buyers in Europe. So while prices are not yet rising, they are beginning to seem firmer. This sentiment alone will suffice for prices to begin to lift in the coming weeks.
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