- Global prices witness decline
- Slight uptick in stainless steel prices
Indian ferro molybdenum prices saw a drop of INR 29,000/t ($332/t) w-o-w in comparison to the previous assessment on 5 March. Prices edged down as market activities slowed down during the previous week.
Ferro molybdenum prices in India were INR 2,608,000/t ($29,900/t) exw-India, as per BigMint’s assessment on 12 March. Approximately 20 t of trades were concluded last week in the price range of INR 2,535,000-2,615,000/t ($29,064-29,981/t) exw.
Market highlights (6-11 March 2025)
Slowdown in market activity: A slight drop was observed in inquires and buyers’ bids over the last week. As a result, buyers were not much in favour of selling material. A key supplier source told BigMint, “We sold lot of material at higher rates when prices were between INR 2,650,000-2,675,000/t ($30,382-30,669/t) exw. Since prices have softened a bit, we have not sold anything recently. Additionally, we are expecting the market to rebound in the coming days.”
Also, reliable sources informed that new shipments of molybdenum oxide have arrived recently, so supplies of ferro molybdenum are at usual levels.
Global price trends: In China, prices (Mo:60%) have come down by RMB 5,000/t ($689/t) w-o-w to RMB 222,500/t ($30,645/t) exw-Inner Mongolia. Steel mills in China had sufficient inventories and some of them opted for production cuts. This, in turn, led to lower demand and a drop in prices.
Decline in prices was seen across countries. In the US and Europe (Mo:70%), prices went down by $1/kg w-o-w each to $50/kg and $49/kg, respectively.
On the London Metal Exchange (LME) platform, prices were largely steady, inching down slightly by $0.36/lb w-o-w to $20.5/lb on 11 March.
Stainless steel market dynamics: Stainless steel prices for 304 grade HRC edged up by INR 2,500/t ($29/t) w-o-w to INR 324,000/t ($3,716/t) exw-Mumbai. Demand-wise, not much of an improvement was seen and with upcoming Holi festival and financial yearend, buying activities may stay muted.
Additionally, a leading stainless steel producer has recently hiked 316 grade HRC and CRC prices by INR 2,000/t ($23/t). This was mainly due to LME nickel prices reaching a six-week high of $16,000/t.
Outlook
With limited movement in the market currently, prices may stay within the current range with minor fluctuations.
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