The molybdenum oxide market continued to drift Tuesday, sources said.
Prices were indicated slightly lower again, with two traders in Europe matching price levels heard concluded in Asia and selling oxide powder at $5.25/lb, basis in-warehouse Rotterdam.
Contrasting the molybdenum market with the recent surge in vanadium prices, one commented that "moly is being depressed a bit by the absence of consumers in the market."
In Asia, oxide powder sales were reported at $5.25/lb in Busan and Taiwan, and at levels a few cents higher in Japan and India.
The oxide market is roughly at the mid-point of its broad $5.00-$5.50/lb trading range, commented a second trader, while a third trader bemoaned the relatively static nature of the market this year.
"There are two things you want as a trader -- volatility and liquidity -- and it's got neither," he said.
A supplier echoed the point.
"I have the feeling that the whole market is remarkably balanced," he said. "We've seen two months of basic price stability in ferromoly and oxide, within a range of 30 cents or so."
The Platts daily dealer oxide assessment fell to $5.25-$5.35/lb from $5.30-$5.40/lb previously, while the Platts daily European ferromolybdenum assessment narrowed to $13.70-$13.90/kg from $13.70-$14.00/kg previously.
