Ferro-vanadium prices fell on Wednesday on thin consumer demand and lower Chinese offer prices. Ferro-vanadium basis 70-80% fell to $62.25-64.50 per kg compared with $62.75-65.50 per kg previously, as traders and producers reported booking business for delivery far forward below $62. "Ferro-vanadium doesn't look too bright," said one trader, who told MB that he has had no consumer enquiries for more than six tonnes in the past week. Demand from European steelmakers in the fourth quarter will be thinner than usual because of the mounting concerns over the global economy, traders said. "All the steel mills are cutting back: the bubble has burst and the happy days are over for the moment," said a second trader, who described the spot market in Europe as "dead". Chinese producers that had been offering over $70 are now offering material at around $63 per kg, traders said, while the majority of concluded European business was around $63.50.

The lowest Chinese offer reported by a European trader was $60.50 per kg. But the spot market in Asia is more active and more buoyant than it is in Europe, a third trader told MB, reporting business booked in Asia close to $68 per kg. Prices are set to fall slowly for the next few weeks, the majority of traders said, but cautioned that stocks of material in Rotterdam are low and that there is very little ferro-vanadium on the water. Within four weeks' time there could be almost no stock in European warehouses, traders said. Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) prices were unchanged on Wednesday, as traders failed to report any concluded business to MB. There has been little activity in the spot market since an Austrian consumer bought two containers of material last week, market participants said. Chinese offers reported to MB ranged between $14 per lb and $15.20 per lb from major producers. "There have been no enquiries and no demand," said a fourth trader.