Global Molybdenum Consumption Up, Production Down In 2021

April 6 (Argus) - Global molybdenum consumption will rise 13 percent year-on-year in 2021 as steel production recovers, but molybdenum production will decline, according to the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA). Global consumption rose to 611.2 million pounds, up 13 percent from 539.7 million pounds in 2020. At the same time, global production declines by about 4 percent year-over-year to 575.8 million pounds from 602.4 million pounds in 2020, but is close to the 575.4 million pounds in 2019.

Despite the decline in global production, Chinese molybdenum production bucked the trend by 14% to 222.3 million pounds, up from 195 million pounds in 2020. China's consumption increased to 245.6 million pounds, up 5 percent from 234.6 million pounds in 2020. As a result, China remains the largest producer and consumer of molybdenum through 2021.

Production in Latin America fell 9 percent to 181.3 million pounds from about 199 million pounds a year ago, while production in North America dropped 16 percent to 128.6 million pounds from 153.7 million pounds in 2020. Production in the rest of the world fell by about 20% to 43.7 million pounds in 2021 from 54.8 million pounds in 2020.

Higher copper prices dragged down molybdenum production in Latin America in 2021. Molybdenum and copper are typically mined together, so strong copper demand has led some miners to focus on higher copper-bearing formations to take advantage of profitable price increases.

Compared to 117 million pounds in 2020, European molybdenum consumption grew by 11 percent to about 130 million pounds, making the region the world's second-largest molybdenum consumer after China. Meanwhile, U.S. consumption grew more than any other region as the country used 30 percent more molybdenum than it did in 2020. in 2021, U.S. consumption increased to just under 60 million pounds, up from 46.2 million pounds a year earlier and 56.7 million pounds in 2019.