Demand for Molybdenum grew at 7% annually from 2001-2008. Although global economic growth substantially declined in 2009, analysts expect demand growth to remain above global GDP growth and to return to above 6% annual growth rates beginning in 2010 based on pent up demand.
Over the past ten years, moly compound growth rates have grown from 2% (1997-2001) to 5% (2002-2006). This rapid demand growth is evidenced most notably in steel output, which grew 7.5% in 2007. As moly demand growth has outpaced production, consumers of moly have increasingly turned to inventories of moly to supplement production.
In the five years preceding the economic collapse, global moly inventories have fell from over 6.5 months of production to approximately 2.7 months. Even in this economic downcycle, inventories of molybdenum are not forecast to grow substantially. At current demand levels, 20-25 million pounds of new molybdenum production must come to market each year to keep pace with market demand.
Global Demand
Worldwide demand for molybdenum has been robust. Between 2005 and 2007, demand grew at an average of 8% per year. Although the global economy has slowed substantially in 2009, steel industry participants continue to view the underlying demand fundamentals of the moly market positively. CPM group, an independent market consultant, expects demand growth to rebound substantially to 6.0% in 2010, as evidence suggests that large moly-intensive steel projects have simply been deferred, rather than cancelled. This global demand is largely fuelled by infrastructure development in China and India.
The market is expected to remain in deficit until 2012...
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