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Europe, US buyers seeking moly oxide in Asia amid tight supply

Tokyo (Platts)--25Jun2009
Moly oxide trade was active this week in Asia due to European and US
traders seeking spot cargoes, as there seems to be limited spot cargoes
available in the West, Japanese and Korean market sources said Thursday.

Japanese and Korean traders said the number of enquiries from the West
suddenly increased after Wednesday. The European and US buyers were mostly
seeking 20 mt cargoes for July or August deliveries. They are believed to have
come to Asia as they were not able to source their requirement in their home
markets.

Price levels jumped. Earlier this week, a deal was done at $10.40/lb CIF
Rotterdam, according to one Korean seller, but a Japanese trader reported
selling at $10.80/lb CIF Rotterdam Thursday.

There are offers as high as $11/lb CIF. "It looks like sellers are
testing where the resistance level would be ... will they find buyers at
$12/lb, $13/lb, like that," said one Japanese trader.

The keen buyers from Europe and the US may retreat after they buy what
they needed for their third quarter businesses, and stillness may return to
the Asian market.

But very few market participants are expecting prices to ease, on the
back of tight supply, and demand for stainless steel gradually recovering in
all parts of the world.

Separately, one Korean seller said Chinese ferromoly converters are back
buying, seeking for more than 60 mt moly oxide cargoes, while another buyer
said a Chinese moly oxide trader had exported 20 mt to South Korea this month.

China's supply and demand balance seems to be changing on a weekly basis
but every market participant continues to closely watch the trend.
--Mayumi Watanabe, [email protected]