India: Ferro molybdenum prices inch down w-o-w on global cues

• Global prices, LME futures dip slightly
  
  
• Bid-offer gaps contribute to price cuts
  
  

Indian ferro molybdenum prices inched down by INR 12,000/tonne ($142/t) w-o-w in comparison to the previous assessment on 20 November. Declining global tags and bid-offer disparities contributed to the price drop.

According to BigMint's assessment on 27 November, ferro molybdenum prices in India were at INR 2,549,000/t ($30,177/t) exw on a 60% pro-rata basis. Trades of around 40 t were reported to BigMint last week, in the price bracket of INR 2,550,000-2,580,000/t ($30,189-30,544/t) exw.

Market highlights

Global prices edge down: In China, prices (Mo:60%) declined slightly by RMB 2,000/t ($276/t) w-o-w to RMB 239,000/t ($32,956/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. Steel mills were not active in procuring material due to weak market activity and ample stocks of ferro molybdenum. Despite this, sellers were largely firm on their quotes, and no major variations were observed in prices.

In Europe and the US (Mo:70%), prices registered a slight drop of $0.7/kg w-o-w to $51/kg.

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), prices declined by a minimal $0.37/pound (lb) w-o-w to $21.52/lb on 26 November.

Domestic prices follow global trends: As the Indian market is majorly driven by global sentiments, domestic prices edged down w-o-w. Bid-offer mismatches were also observed, with buyers unwilling to engage at previously seen higher levels. This prompted slight price cuts.

Prices of imported molybdenum oxide to India inched down by $0.3-0.4/lb w-o-w to $21.4-21.6/lb this week against $21.8-21.9/lb in the week before.

Outlook

In the near term, fluctuations in global and LME futures prices might keep ferro molybdenum prices range-bound. Notably, prices of stainless steel, particularly the 316 grade, for which ferro molybdenum is a key input, were largely stable w-o-w with slight drop.