Molybdic oxide and ferro-molybdenum prices have been underpinned over the past week due to steady trading rates, buoyant conversion costs and strong underlying consumption in the steel sector, which is expected to persist in the near term.
Molybdic oxide prices have pared gains slightly in the second week of trading in 2018, with the market at $11-11.30 per lb, in-warehouse Rotterdam on Wednesday January 10. The market was previously assessed at $11-11.40 per lb on Friday January 5 after jumping more than 10% in the first few days of the year. The first week of trading in 2018 saw prices hit a level last seen in September 2014, a year when the market peaked at $14.80-15.30 per lb in May. This week some 120 tonnes of oxide was reported traded between $11 and $11.30 per lb, although 10 lbs of that was contracted in Busan, South Korea. "There is no premium between Asia and Europe on oxide," a trader in Europe said, adding, "We see firmer prices for ferro-molybdenum in the near term, but there is a bit of negotiating capacity in oxide, firm steel demand and...