#42Mo
Molybdenum Price
Strategic MetalExport Licence
Key alloying element in high-strength steels and superalloys.
- Main trade forms
- Oxide (MoO₃)
- Available from
- CN, US, CL, PE
Last update: Mar 15, 2026
4 records
4 records
Retail Reference
$55/kg
Powder 99.9% (3N) · 1 kg
Edgetech Industries · CN · Mar 15, 2026
Bulk Benchmark
n/a
No commodity benchmark available
Export LicenceChinese export licence required for Molybdenum in all controlled forms.Regulatory Tracker →
Applications
| Application | Role | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| HSLA & stainless steel | Mo alloying for strength, hardenability, corrosion resistance | ~80% of Mo demand. Critical for pipeline steels (X70/X80), pressure vessels, 316L stainless |
| Superalloys | Mo in Ni- and Co-based superalloys (Hastelloy, Inconel) | Jet-engine combustion sections, gas turbines, chemical reactors |
| Catalysts | Co-Mo and Ni-Mo hydrodesulfurisation catalysts | Refinery sulfur removal from petroleum fuels, mandated by global ULSD/IMO 2020 standards |
| Mo metal & wire | Mo electrodes, sputtering targets, furnace heating elements | Glass-melting electrodes, semiconductor metallisation, vacuum furnace components |
| Lubricants | MoS2 solid lubricant additive | High-pressure lubricant for gears, bearings, fasteners |
Market & Supply
Global mine production
~250,000 t Mo/year [4]
China share
~40%
Other top producers
Chile, Peru, USA, Mexico
Co-product source
~60% as Cu by-product
Export control
MOFCOM No. 10/2025 [2]
Mo oxide benchmark
$18 to $24/lb (Platts)
Ferromolybdenum (FOB)
$45 to $55/kg Mo
Mo metal retail
$60 to $300/kg
Verified Offers
Molybdenum trades on a thick global market with Platts MoO3 as the headline benchmark. Retail metal listings are gram- to kilogram-scale rod, plate, and powder. The auto-rendered table shows tracked listings.
| Purity | MOQ | Original | Source | Verification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-15 | Powder | 99.9% (3N) | 1 kg | 1 kg | $68 | 68 USD/kg | distributor offer | Stanford Advanced Materials | US | single source offer | 0.60 |
| 2026-03-15 | Powder | 99.9% (3N) | 1 kg | 1 kg | $55 | 55 USD/kg | distributor offer | Edgetech Industries | CN | single source offer | 0.60 |
| 2026-03-15 | Powder | 99.9% (3N) | 1 kg | 1 kg | $60 | 60 USD/kg | marketplace offer | ALB Materials | CN | single source offer | 0.60 |
| 2026-03-15 | Powder | 99.9% (3N) | 1 kg | 1 kg | $82 | 82 USD/kg | distributor offer | American Elements | US | single source offer | 0.60 |
4 records · click a column to sort
Important Notes
Licence regime active
MOFCOM No. 10/2025 [2] requires Chinese export licences for Mo metal, ferromolybdenum, MoO3 and ammonium molybdate. Compliance load is now permanent for Chinese exporters.
Diversified supply offsets control risk
Unlike W or REE where China holds 80 to 99% of refined supply, Mo is broadly distributed. Codelco (Chile), Freeport-McMoRan (Cerro Verde, Morenci), and Southern Copper produce large volumes as porphyry-Cu by-product. Western steel mills can substitute supply more readily than for tungsten.
Refinery catalyst demand
Hydrodesulfurisation catalyst (Co-Mo, Ni-Mo) demand is structurally linked to global crude throughput and tightening sulfur specs. Low-sulfur shipping fuel mandates (IMO 2020) added durable Mo catalyst demand on top of existing road-fuel needs.
Physical Properties [1]
Z: 42 · Ar: 95.95 u · ρ: 10.28 g/cm3 · Tm: 2,623 °C · Tb: 4,639 °CCrystal: bcc · Config: [Kr]4d55s1 · Ox. states: -2 to +6
References
- Wolfram Alpha, “Molybdenum element.” wolframalpha.com.
- MOFCOM Announcement No. 10 of 2025, “Export Control of Tungsten, Tellurium, Bismuth, Molybdenum and Indium Related Items,” effective 4 February 2025.
- MOFCOM Announcements No. 70 and 72 of 2025 (suspension orders), 7 to 9 November 2025.
- United States Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Molybdenum, January 2025.
Seen a sourced Molybdenum quote that is missing above?