Singapore (Platts)--7Nov2012/438 am EST/938 GMT

The Asian molybdenum oxide market remained quiet Wednesday, with the only firm buying interest coming from South Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, sources said Wednesday.

Doosan issued a buy tender for 40 mt of briquette, in 20-mt lots, for delivery on December 6 and December 18. The tender will close November 7, a company official said.

Traders in China had little interest to offer and were not keen to participate in the Doosan tender either, as they expected the settlement price for the tender to be lower than prevailing spot prices.

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Platts daily moly oxide price has been assessed unchanged at $10.90-11.05/lb since November 2.

The China-based traders said they would not sell below $11/lb CIF Asia.

"We have our own molybdenum mines, but we have to bear in mind production costs, and prices below $11/lb are challenging even for us," a China-based supplier said.

The market remained devoid any trading activity Wednesday, as buyers kept their bids unchanged at below $10.70-10.95/lb CIF Asia, while sellers in South Korea and China resisted lowering their offers to below $11/lb.

"Sellers do not want to sell below $11/lb CIF Japan, and this has not changed for weeks," a Japan-based trader said.

--Mayumi Watanabe, mayumi_watanabe@platts.com --HongMei Li, hongmei_li@platts.com --Edited by Haripriya Banerjee, haripriya_banerjee@platts.com

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