The price of "industrial vitamins" surged by 1500 yuan in one day.

Molybdenum, known as the "industrial vitamin", is an indispensable metal material in the fields of steel metallurgy, high-end equipment, new energy, etc. China's molybdenum reserves rank first in the world. In the first half of 2026, the molybdenum market was strong across the board, with prices of molybdenum concentrate and molybdenum iron, the two core varieties, rising by nearly 30%, reaching a new high in nearly three years. The price of molybdenum concentrate per ton exceeded 5300 yuan, and molybdenum iron rose by 1500 yuan per ton in a single day. Why has the price of molybdenum continued to rise? What new changes have occurred in the supply and demand pattern along the industrial chain? How sharp is the surge in molybdenum prices? The price of molybdenum iron increased by 1500 yuan per ton in a single day, with a cumulative increase of nearly 30% in the first half of the year. Molybdenum iron is the core product obtained after smelting molybdenum concentrate, and it is also an essential alloy additive for special steel. Ren Linhai, the manager of the smelting branch of CMOC Group Limited in China, introduced that the price of molybdenum iron per ton on July 14 was 332,000 yuan, up from 330,500 yuan on July 13, an increase of 1500 yuan in a day. In the long run, molybdenum iron is on an upward trend. As the price of molybdenum concentrate rises, can upstream mines increase production and supply? At a large open-pit molybdenum mine in Luoyang, Henan, the mine operated at full capacity all day. The original ore went through multiple processes such as crushing, grinding, flotation, and selection, and eventually processed into high-purity molybdenum concentrate, the core upstream raw material of the molybdenum industry chain. The person in charge told the reporter that the current production capacity of the company is close to the upper limit, and it is difficult to significantly increase production in the short term. Since the beginning of this year, the price of molybdenum concentrate has been continuously rising, and it has now exceeded 5300 yuan/ton. Taking molybdenum concentrate with a molybdenum content of 45% as an example, the price per ton is close to 240,000 yuan. Faced with the hot market conditions, companies are beginning to increase investment in improving metal recovery rates while operating at full capacity. Tan Xiaole, deputy manager of the beneficiation branch of CMOC Group Limited in China, stated that the recovery rate has increased from over 90% to over 92%. Core data is released! Tight supply is the fundamental reason for price increases Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' latest market data on July 17: The quoted price of molybdenum concentrate is 5335 yuan/ton, with a cumulative increase of nearly 36% in the first half of the year; The quoted price of molybdenum iron is 333,000 yuan/ton, with a cumulative increase of nearly 28% in the first half of the year. The prices of the two main products have simultaneously reached near three-year highs. Industry experts believe that the tightness in structural supply is the core reason for the price increases. Shi Jia, manager of the special alloy business department of Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings' ferroalloy division, revealed that in the first half of 2026, China's molybdenum concentrate production was about 160,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.8%. The supply growth rate is much lower than the expansion speed of downstream demand. At the same time, the release of production capacity in China's main molybdenum producing areas is very limited. The role of imported raw materials to supplement is weak. Effective high-grade molybdenum concentrate like this in the first five months was less than 8,000 tons, accounting for only 4.4% of the total supply of molybdenum concentrate in the first five months in China. In the short term, there is limited effective increase in supply. Who are the major consumers of molybdenum? Seventy percent of demand comes from specialty steel! New tracks drive steady growth in molybdenum consumption In addition to the tight supply in the upstream, stable growth in demand in the downstream, particularly in the specialty steel sector, is another key factor supporting the high price of molybdenum. Currently, over seventy percent of molybdenum demand in China comes from the specialty steel sector. Jiang Qiao, general manager of the sales company of CITIC Pacific Special Steel Group, explained that molybdenum iron not only improves strength but also meets the requirements for toughness and good plasticity in products. It also provides assistance to steel products by being heat-resistant, corrosion-resistant, etc. This specialty steel company uses molybdenum-containing steel accounting for 30% of total production, and purchases about 25,000 tons of molybdenum iron annually. The continuous rise in raw material prices directly increases production costs, prompting the company to urgently adjust its purchasing model to hedge risks. According to Huang Jianghai, general manager of the procurement center of CITIC Pacific Special Steel Group, 60% of purchases were based on long-term agreement prices, with around 40% being spot purchases. In response to the high price of molybdenum iron recently, they have mainly adhered to long-term agreement purchases, thereby reducing the proportion of spot purchases. Data shows that in the first half of 2026, the total tender volume for molybdenum iron from domestic steel mills was 82,000 tons, a 6% increase year-on-year. With the acceleration of industrial iteration in Shanxi Guoxin Energy Corporation and the continuous transformation and upgrading of the high-end equipment manufacturing industry, the demand for molybdenum-containing special steel continues to grow. Jiang Qiao, general manager of the sales company of CITIC Pacific Special Steel Group, pointed out that around aerospace, deep-sea, energy storage power stations, including new energy, hydrogen energy, wind power, and nuclear power development, the demand for molybdenum-containing steel has grown rapidly, with an annual growth rate of about 10%. "Molybdenum" is not just ordinary Explosive growth in new capacity! Photovoltaics, semiconductors open up long-term growth space for the molybdenum industry In addition to the traditional basis of special steel, emerging sectors such as new displays, perovskite photovoltaics, and semiconductors are restructuring the demand logic for molybdenum, driving the molybdenum market from industrial necessity to the high-end new materials field. At a molybdenum deep processing company in Luoyang, Henan, the company is intensifying the production of molybdenum tube targets, which are mainly used for coating on display panels. In recent times, there has been a noticeable increase in orders. Zhang Lingjie, chairman of Luoyang Kewei Tungsten Molybdenum Co., Ltd., said that orders have increased in the past two months and the company's production of molybdenum products, which used to be around 50 tons per month, has now increased to more than 70 tons. Recently, this company has secured a new verification order for perovskite photovoltaics, with the company's representative stating that molybdenum tube targets have comprehensive properties such as high melting point, low resistance, and good corrosion resistance. These targets are the core material for new photovoltaic cells, with tremendous industry potential. The semiconductor storage industry is experiencing material iteration, with many global leading storage chip companies using molybdenum instead of traditional tungsten in the next generation of ultra-high-layer chips. Industry insiders point out that molybdenum has lower resistance, does not require a barrier layer, and can be directly filled, making it an inevitable technological choice for advanced storage process iteration. Shi Jia, manager of the special alloy business department of the ferroalloy division of Shanghai Ganglian E-Commerce Holdings, stated that the storage chip sector currently has a relatively small volume but brings more valuation and emotional premiums. However, the long-term growth potential of the sector is significant. Within 3-5 years, it will transition from a thematic concept to substantial demand growth, overall, the long-term structural benefits brought by global energy transformation, high-end manufacturing, AI computational power industry upgrades, etc., will make molybdenum a key strategic new material supporting new energy, semiconductors, and defense industries. This article is reprinted from "Financial Association". GMTEight Editor: Jiang Yuanhua.