India: Ferro molybdenum prices rise on increased offers, global prices

• Buyers resist higher offers
  
  
• Price hike observed in China
  
  

Indian ferro molybdenum prices rose by INR 60,000/t ($719/t) w-o-w in comparison to the previous assessment on 12 June. Prices went up in response to an increase in offers from sellers and the continued crunch in molybdenum oxide supplies.

According to BigMint assessment on 19 June, Indian ferro molybdenum prices stood at INR 2,820,000/t ($33,784/t) exw-Nagpur on a 60% pro rata basis. Approximately 15 t of sales were concluded last week in the INR 2,775,000-2,850,000/t ($33,245-34,143/t) price range.

Weekly market activities

High offers, low acceptance: Although the offers from producers remained on the higher side, the acceptance level was lacking among buyers. A major domestic producer told BigMint, "Prices have gone higher within a short time span and sellers are selling off their inventory at a discount."

According to reports, the supply shortage of molybdenum oxide, which was previously reported, persisted throughout last week as well, and the cost of imported molybdenum oxide in India was approximately between $24.5-26/kg.

Global price trends: Prices for ferro molybdenum (Mo:60%) in China went up by RMB 2,000/t ($276/t) w-o-w to RMB 251,000/t ($34,587/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. Inquiries were seen for the material particularly by steel mills from Hebei and Shanxi.

Russia (Mo:60%) had a w-o-w increase in prices of RUB 50/kg ($1/kg) to RUB 3,195/kg ($38/t). Prices in the US (Mo70%) and Europe (Mo:70%) also saw a slight increase of $0.5/kg w-o-w, to $63/kg and $53/kg, respectively.

On the London Metal Exchange (LME) platform, prices remained steady with just a minor increase of $0.12/pound to $23.46/pound on 18 June.

Outlook

Price fluctuations are anticipated in the coming days but prices are expected to stay within a stable range.