India: Ferro molybdenum prices range-bound, may rise in near-term

• Approximately 12 t of trades concluded last week
  
  
• Prices remain stable both globally and on LME
  
  

Ferro molybdenum prices in India remained range-bound, with slight variations. Prices increased by INR 35,000/tonne ($417/t) w-o-w compared to the previous assessment on 25 September.

According to BigMint's assessment on 1 October, ferro molybdenum prices in India were INR 2,550,000/t ($30,380/t) exw-Nagpur on a 60% pro-rata basis. Approximately 12 tonnes of deals were concluded last week within the price range of INR 2,465,000-2,500,000/t ($29,367-29,784/t) exw.

Market summary

Lack of movement in market: The global and domestic sectors have remained stable lately, experiencing minimal variations, with steady demand as well. Additionally, stability was observed in imported molybdenum oxide prices to India, which were around $21.5-21.6/lb.

However, an uptrend in offers was seen in the latter part of last week. A producer was quoted as saying to BigMint, "Prices are expected to rise further due to several factors, including the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, China's stimulus, increased post-monsoon demand, and potential material shortages."

Global market highlights: With the National Day Holidays in China, domestic market was quiet. However before that, bidding prices for ferro molybdenum in the domestic market were in the range of RMB 235,000-237,500/t ($33,354-33,708/t). The fall in steel prices did put some downward pressure on prices but overall demand remained good which kept the prices from falling.

In Europe and US (Mo:70%), prices came down by a slight $0.5/kg w-o-w each to $51/kg and $52/kg, respectively

On the London Metal Exchange (LME) platform, prices were unchanged w-o-w at $21.61/pound on 2 October.

Outlook

Considering current market conditions, prices are likely to stay within existing range with some variations. However, a major Indian producer anticipates a price rise driven by increased demand post-monsoon.