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Steel Raw Material Outlook-Molybdenum

November 30, 2015 - Molybdenum oxide prices continued to inch higher Monday, though trading volumes remained subdued.

The Asian market remained quiet overall, although offer levels have moved up to $4.60-$4.70/lb, encouraged by the slight rise in moly oxide prices at the end of last week.

A Japanese trader confirmed paying $4.60/lb CIF Japan for 20 mt of moly oxide powder to be delivered within December.

In Europe, where prices continued to trade at a slight premium to Asia, business was also slow, with the highest price reported so far an inter-trade sale of oxide powder at $4.75/lb prompt in-warehouse Rotterdam.

"Oxide is available, but limited," said one European market participant, adding that "if traders want to do a back-to-back business they'd have to sell at $4.70-$4.80/lb to make a small margin."

Some dealer oxide assessment rose to $4.55-$4.75/lb Monday from $4.50-$4.65/lb previously, with the daily European ferromolybdenum assessment range widening slightly to $12.25-$12.45/kg from $12.25-$12.40/kg.

An oxide price of around $4.60/lb would theoretically equate to ferromoly at around $12.80-$13.00/kg, but such prices are not currently achievable, sources said.

Conversion costs to produce ferromoly are set to fall next year, however one European trader said.

"Everyone will have lower ferromoly conversion terms for next year -- all below $1/lb, in some cases comfortably below that, the trader said, citing the strength of the dollar and the fact that prices of the raw materials used in the conversion process -- such as aluminum, ferrosilicon and iron -- have all fallen.

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