BERLIN — Ferrovanadium sellers are being forced to let small quantities of material go at lower and lower prices as demand all but disappears.

Smaller quantities traditionally fetched a premium to compensate for freight and financing costs, but this is no longer the case, a trader said on the sidelines of AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin’s 28th International Ferro-Alloys Conference in Berlin.

Because business is so scarce, market participants are selling whatever quantity they can at whatever price they can, the trader said. "Vanadium is really difficult. There’s nearly no demand, and there are only a few people able to offer (as much as) 20 tonnes."

Deals have been done at the midpoint and toward the lower end of Metal Bulletin’s price range of $23.90 to $24.50 per kilogram ($10.84 to $11.11 per pound) for quantities of just a few tonnes.

"It’s mostly 3, 5, 6 tonnes, and smaller quantities are sometimes cheaper than the bigger ones," the trader said. "If you ask for 1 or 2 tonnes, there are 20 players in the market and they all have to (compete) for the same contract."

The situation is unlikely to improve as the global macroeconomic environment remains unstable, particularly in Europe. "I don’t see any increases before the end of the year," the trader said.

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Metal Bulletin.