London (Platts)--29Nov2012/513 pm EST/2213 GMT

Prices for molybdenum oxide moved up over the week, but slipped on the day as business was quiet and offers slipped, sources said.

Platts assessed weekly dealer molybdenum oxide at $11.00-11.30/lb Thursday, up from $10.90-11.10/lb a week earlier.

The assessment is based on 404 mt of business -- 164 mt in Europe, 200 mt in Korea, 20 mt in Japan and 20 mt in the US.

"Everyone's talking higher numbers, but there's no consumer activity, as usual," one trader said.

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On the higher numbers in the market he said that in his view market participants are covering against the expectation that consumers will want very prompt deliveries at the start of the new year.

A producer said offers were still high for oxide powder despite slow consumer demand as supply was tight. "It's very quiet, I've only had a couple of inquiries this week," a producer said.

He noted that long-term contracts had not be concluded for next year, which may cause a flurry of buying activity at the end of December and start of January.

A second trader said the range between intratrade business and consumer sales was widening, with talk of bids closer to $11.10/lb from mills.

A third trader said the market was also quiet over the last few days and reported only one purchase over the week, 20 mt at $11.30/lb.

He added that he bought 20 mt of ferromolybdenum from a trader at $28.10/kg and that a mill was in the market for a truckload delivery Tuesday for which he offered $28.30/kg.

Indeed it was ferromolybdenum which created the most interest over the week with a fourth trader reporting a sale of a truckload at $28.50/kg early Thursday and another at $29/kg later in the day, both on a DDP basis.

The producer said he sold a truckload at $28.50/kg DDP mid-Europe as well as 24 mt of oxide powder at $11.50/lb DDP 30 days payment earlier in the week.

Platts assessed European ferromolybdenum at $27.50-28.20/kg, up from $26.90-27.30/kg a week ago. The Platts daily dealer oxide price assessment narrowed to $11.15-11.30/lb Thursday, from $11.15-11.35/lb Wednesday.

--Jitendra Gill, jitendra_gill@platts.com
--Edited by Jason Lindquist, jason_lindquist@platts.com

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