Demand side: downstream recovery, demand growth sustained
Global molybdenum consumption growth is expected to remain around 4% in 2019-2021. According to the International Molybdenum Industry Association (IMOA), the global molybdenum consumption in 2018 was 264400 tons, an increase of about 4.4 percent over the same period last year, and the global molybdenum consumption in 2017 was 253100 tons, an increase of 8.9 percent over the same period last year, and the annual compound growth rate of global molybdenum consumption in the past decade was 2.2 percent.
China is currently the world's largest consumption of molybdenum, consumption growth is also higher than the global growth rate of molybdenum consumption. According to the International Molybdenum Industry Association (IMOA), China's molybdenum consumption accounted for 37% in 2018, which is higher than that of Europe, the second largest consumer (25% of global consumption). In 2010-2018, China's molybdenum consumption grew at an average annual compound growth rate of 4.7%, which is higher than the global 2.6%. With the continuous upgrading of China's manufacturing industry, especially the gradual change in the consumption structure of the steel industry, the consumption of molybdenum has gradually increased. For developed countries and regions, China's molybdenum consumption still has huge room for growth. At present, the average molybdenum content of iron and steel products in China is only 0.1\8240;, which is significantly lower than that of Japan (about 0.25\8240; on average) and the United States and Europe (about 0.3\8240; on average). According to IMOA statistics, molybdenum is the most important application in iron and steel industry, accounting for about 80% of the total consumption of molybdenum, of which 40% is used for alloy steel ,23% for stainless steel and 8% for tool steel. The addition of molybdenum in steel can improve the strength and toughness of steel, improve the wear resistance and corrosion resistance of steel, and improve the weldability and heat resistance of steel. The largest proportion of molybdenum consumption in iron and steel is mainly alloy (40%) and stainless steel (22%), and the molybdenum content is usually between 0.15% and 5% according to the performance requirements.
