FeMo prices up; likely to be capped before year-end

Ferro-molybdenum prices in Europe broke through $24 per kg on the top end on Friday October 11, as market participants reported a slight increase in activity.

Ferro-molybdenum prices in Europe broke through $24 per kg on the top end on Friday October 11, as market participants reported a slight increase in activity.

Metal Bulletin’s in-warehouse Rotterdam quotation moved up to $23.80-24.10 per kg on Friday, from $23.50-23.80 per kg previously.

“Prices have firmed a little bit more. This week, we’ve sold [two trucks] altogether. For less than 10 tonnes, we can see $24.50,” a producer told Metal Bulletin.

Prices are not expected to rise much further in the coming months, however, as steel mills begin to destock ahead of the year end and market participants await details of new mine projects, as well as buying in China.

“Nobody knows what’s going to happen with China – whether they’re going to become buyers from the Western world permanently,” a second producer said. “Everybody is asking about new projects such as the Sierra Gorda [copper-molybdenum mine in Chile] as well.”

Prices for the rest of the year are likely to be decided before the end of November, as little or no buying is expected in December.

Oxide prices were also up, climbing to $9.45-9.55 per lb, compared with $9.30-9.45 per lb previously.

LME Week failed to yield much business, according to some market participants, but deals were concluded elsewhere in Europe.

“We’ve had a couple of sales and we’ve also heard about some business in Italy,” a third producer said.

There have also been some enquiries during the week at higher numbers, the first producer added.

“We’ve been looking for some material and I’ve been quite conservative, but we’ve also had unsolicited quotations,” the first producer said.

Claire Hack 
chack@metalbulletin.com
Twitter: @clairehack_mb 

What to read next
The most recent financial results published by base metals mining companies highlight just how inflation is affecting profit margins, with increasing wages, financing costs and input prices all hitting profits, sources told Fastmarkets in the week to Thursday March 28
Century Aluminum is among those selected to start award negotiations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminium smelter, the company said on Monday March 25
Participants in the copper concentrates market are struggling to comprehend an “unstoppable” decline in treatment and refinement charges (TC/RCs), with every week bringing spot deals at fresh lows and rumors each “crazier” than the last, sources have told Fastmarkets
The US Department of Energy selected five base metals projects to receive more than $900 million in federal investment from its Industrial Demonstration Program (IDP), leading to a reduction of four million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, according to a statement by the Department on Monday March 25
Aluminium producer and recycler Constellium announced on Tuesday March 12 that the company is moving to test hydrogen utilization at an industrial scale as a power source in its casthouses
Fastmarkets has corrected its MB-ALU-0002 alumina index, fob Australia and its MB-ALU-0010 alumina inferred index, fob Brazil, which were published incorrectly on Monday March 18.