Moly producers were in bullish mood this week, reporting a spate of enquiries for prompt material on both sides of the Atlantic and mild upward pressure on prices. Most players feel that demand is robust, and prompting firmer sentiment in the spot market, but others still point to tight availability and recurrent supply uncertainties over China as the main influence on their business. It is not so much the buoyancy of prices that continues to surprise but the remarkable lack of volatility, with trader terms typically only a shade above where they were four or five months ago but finding solid support every time there is a hint of significant correction. Consumers in Europe put oxide prices in the 25-26 dollars/lb, range, with one maker of special steels recently closing a tender for two-three truckloads of briquettes at 25.50 dollars/lb. Since then producers and traders claim to have done business at or slightly above 26 dollars/lb, with higher quotations supported by delivery periods of a couple of weeks. FeMo is more readily available, and terms are currently around 61-62 dollars/kg. Availability of both FeMo and oxide is quite tight in the US, with traders quoting 25.50 dollars/lb for the former and raising their terms to 28.50-29.00 dollars/lb for FeMo.
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