MARKET ROUNDUP – markets wind down for the holidays

In general the minor metal and noble alloys markets are noticeably quieter as the holiday period approaches, but demand for molybdenum and cadmium remains strong and bismuth continues on its steep upward track. Some markets have seen lower prices in an end of year clearance but overall the tone is firm and expected to remain so in the coming year.

Molybdenum continues to drift down in spite of good demand for nearby delivery. Most prices are in the range $59.40 – 60.20/kg with business reported at $59.20/kg and $59.95/kg for prompt. Molybdenum oxide is also softer with business done at $24.50/lb and $24.60/lb and two truckloads of briquettes sold in the upper $24s for delivery first and second week January. Chinese ferro molybdenum dropped further to nominally $57.50-58.50/kg in thin trading.

Vanadium prices are softer again in very thin trading with prices about $33-33.50/kg. However one trader achieved a very satisfactory sale of a few tonnes at well over $34/kg.

The ferro titanium market remains lacklustre though, here too, the very low offers are no longer available in the market. There is little spot business and for what there is, prices are in the low $15s ddp. Some suppliers report being busy negotiating long term contracts for the first quarter.

The Chinese are holding very firm on ferro tungsten prices with $33.30/kg CIF among the lowest offers received and others at $33.50/kg and above and little room for negotiation. A sale of 20 tonnes was reported being made to a European steel mill at the equivalent of about $33.24/kg delivered with payment terms.

APT prices are a little lower in Europe at $242-247/mtu on low demand but offers from China remain steady at $245-255/mtu.

There are very few enquiries for cobalt making it hard to place the market, but prices are consolidating with some profit taking going on prior to the end of the year. Prices are said to be slightly softer somewhere in a broad range of $22-28/lb. One source reported some selling from the Far East.

BHP Billiton lowered its website offer price today again by $1 to $27/lb having not sold since 27 November.
Many consumers will be happy to wait over the holiday period watching the price drop before they have to return to the market in the New Year for new supplies. Meanwhile there is probably more interest in the negotiation of long term contracts for next year.

The antimony market is quiet with traders running their books down and only a few consumers needing to buy material before the end of the year. Prices remain firm and any cheap offers from China have disappeared this week. As the result of a mining accident in Hunan last week some smaller antimony mines may be permanently closed by government authorities for safety reasons. If so this will reduce supplies of concentrates to some degree and in anticipation of this, Chinese suppliers have raised their offer prices.

Bismuth prices continue to rise and have creamed through the $7/lb level with business reported at $7.40/lb, up from $7.20/lb earlier in the week. Consumers said to be confused in the rapid rise in prices and more than one traders was left unsure where the market really was. Offers from China are now up to $7.70/lb and above though no business concluded.

Cadmium demand continues to be steady and prices very firm around $1.85-1.90/lb for 4N material and about 5 cents lower for 3N5. Selenium remains steady with perhaps slightly more business at the lower end and down to $23/lb. However one trader felt that good demand in the first quarter from China could see this market rise again.

Germanium has seen a few traditional year-end cheaper offers from China whilst the DLA, which has been selling smaller quantities of material, awarded only 68kgs at $870/kg in November. Higher prices are expected for germanium in the coming year as demand is strong for the metal.

Demand for GaAs is rising and whilst gallium prices have remained steady for the past eighteen months or so, consumers do not hold stocks and the sentiment is that gallium will see higher prices in 2007.

Having moved up at the beginning of the week from China, prices for manganese metal flake are unchanged at $1,520-1,560/tonne FOB for export and $1,600-1,650/tonne in Rotterdam. Demand is flat and not a lot of business is taking place at the moment.