South Korean FeMo dealers appear considering low bids

12 Nov 09 – As the international ferromolybdenum prices appear softening, some of Korean dealers who have been holding back offers expecting higher prices are reportedly having a second thoughts and are beginning to consider bids at, and below, USD28.00/kg Mo delivered.
A dealer reportedly offered 20t to a Taiwanese steel mill at USD29.50/kg Mo but lost the deal to another dealer that accepted bids at USD28.00/kg delivered with payment terms and described current trend as not a good time to sell. "Price is dropping again yet end-users are not in the market with enquiries," said the source.
Another source dealer held a less optimistic view about the future market revealing that even though he expect some 50-80t tender from POSCO next week, if the bids fall below USD28.00/kg Mo delivered, he would not participate and would rather wait for the market to pick up, hopefully early next year. "We're going to wait for one week and see if it will change before we decide what next," said the source.
And for the molyoxide material, mainstream prices remain in the range of USD11.30-11.60/lb, but an official of a trading company disclosed to Asian Metal the company's floor price at this moment remains at USD13.00/lb and have couple of months' threshold to keep the material in the hope the market shore up by early next year.
The source reportedly received enquiries worth more than 100t from Chinese buyers with price indication at USD11.00/lb but could not consider giving out any offer on such a low price.