After the ferro-alloys industry gathered in Hong Kong this week for Fastmarkets' Asian Ferro-alloys conference, our reporters present 10 of the key things we learned.
1. Vanadium is likely to regain momentum in 2019... Many market participants at the conference were bullish about ferro-vanadium in 2019, citing robust demand as a result of the revised rebar standard in China, which mandated an increase in the minimum vanadium content. Vanadium prices hit an all-time high in October and November (although they dipped later in November). China's ferro-vanadium price was at a historical high of $130-140 per kg from mid-October to mid-November. However, speakers on the vanadium panel warned the audience that extremely high vanadium prices were not healthy for the development for the whole industry. 2. ...yet, lower demand is also likely Although the general outlook for vanadium this year is positive, speakers at the conference highlighted shrinking demand from the downstream steel sector as an economic slowdown could be a hurdle to vanadium returning to its 2018 high. Less encouraging signals on Chinese infrastructure developments...