Molybdenum Price Trend and Forecast 2026-2027

China is the expensive one right now. Prices there jumped 17.0% in Q2 2026 alone, from USD 64,300/MT to USD 75,200/MT, and it comes down to ore grades. The country's largest mines just aren't producing what they used to, and stainless and alloy-steel buyers picked exactly this moment to restock hard. Zoom out and the global number tells the same story, only a bit softer: USD 57,800/MT in Q1 2026 climbed to USD 65,780/MT in Q2, up 13.8%. That's four gains in the last five quarters. Copper mines are adding byproduct supply, but not fast enough for what steelmakers and aerospace suppliers actually need. USD 66,000-80,000/MT globally is a reasonable bet for the second half of 2026. Stainless and superalloy demand will keep pulling, mine output will stay tight, and that's really the whole forecast in one sentence. All of this sits on top of a rough 2025, when two mine disruptions pushed prices to a mid-year spike before things cooled a little by Q4.

Molybdenum itself is a silvery, corrosion-resistant metal. Most of it comes out as a byproduct of copper mining, though China also runs primary molybdenum mines dedicated to the metal specifically. Once mined, the concentrate gets roasted into molybdic oxide. From there it either goes straight into ferromolybdenum, which producers add directly to steel and superalloy melts, or gets refined further into molybdenum metal and chemical salts for catalyst work. Stainless and specialty alloy steel eat up the biggest share of demand by a wide margin, since molybdenum is what gives those grades their corrosion resistance and high-temperature strength for chemical plants, marine equipment, and construction machinery. Carbon and low-alloy structural steel, tool steel, aerospace superalloys, power-generation turbines, and refining catalysts fill out the rest. Four things really drive the price: how disciplined mine output is, how much copper byproduct comes online, ore grades in China, and how full the order books are at stainless and aerospace producers.

Molybdenum Price Forecast for 2026

The supply for molybdenum through the second half of 2026 is projected to be limited. Copper miners across the Americas are expanding byproduct output, which helps, but it's not quick enough to offset thinning ore grades at China's biggest primary mines. Stainless-steel producers keep restocking. Aerospace and power-generation superalloy makers keep their order books full. Put those together and buying pressure stays steady across every region on this list.

Watch the supply side for risk. A repeat of last year's mine or plant disruptions would send prices above this forecast without much warning. Go the other direction and a global steel slowdown, or buyers simply burning through the stock they built during the recent rally, would pull prices right back down.

For the Quarter Ending June 2026

Molybdenum Prices Q2 2026:

• United States: USD 63,000/MT
• China: USD 75,200/MT
• Europe: USD 64,500/MT
• Chile: USD 60,400/MT

Molybdenum Prices in the United States

USD 63,000/MT. That's where US molybdenum landed in Q2 2026, up 12.1% from USD 56,200/MT the quarter before. Copper miners did add more byproduct supply this quarter. It just wasn't enough, since stainless and tool-steel producers spent the same three months rebuilding inventory ahead of the second half, and that demand grew faster than the mines could keep up with.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q2 2026 in the United States?

Demand simply outran supply here. Byproduct output from copper mines grew, sure, but stainless and tool-steel buyers restocked even harder. Add in some spillover tightness from the Chinese market, and the US number had nowhere to go but up.

Molybdenum Prices in China

China is still the most expensive market by a wide margin. Prices rose 17.0% this quarter, from USD 64,300/MT to USD 75,200/MT, and the driver hasn't changed: the country's biggest primary mines are producing lower-grade ore than they used to, right as domestic stainless and wind-power steel demand keeps climbing.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q2 2026 in China?

Two things, really. Ore grades at the major domestic mines kept slipping, which capped how much could actually be produced, while stainless and wind-turbine steel manufacturers kept consuming more than the mines could supply. That gap is what widened the premium over Western benchmarks this quarter.

Molybdenum Prices in Europe

European molybdenum came in at USD 64,500/MT for Q2, up 13.6% from USD 56,800/MT in Q1. Alloy-steel order books picked back up, and freight-adjusted import costs climbed right alongside the broader squeeze on global concentrate.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q2 2026 in Europe?

Producers placed more orders as the quarter went on, and import costs followed the wider concentrate market higher. The region's price moved in step with the global trend, more or less exactly.

Molybdenum Prices in Chile

Chile is still the cheapest place on this list to buy molybdenum, though the rally reached it too. Prices climbed to USD 60,400/MT, up 12.1% from USD 53,900/MT in Q1, as expanding copper operations kept adding byproduct volume even while the global benchmark climbed around them.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q2 2026 in Chile?

Copper mines here kept ramping up byproduct output, which is exactly why Chile still trades at a discount to refined oxide and ferromolybdenum benchmarks elsewhere. The gap held steady this quarter rather than widening.

For the Quarter Ending March 2026

Molybdenum Prices Q1 2026:

• United States: USD 56,200/MT
• China: USD 64,300/MT
• Europe: USD 56,800/MT
• Chile: USD 53,900/MT

Molybdenum Prices in the United States

US prices bounced back to USD 56,200/MT in Q1 2026, roughly 13.3% above the fourth quarter. The Q4 pullback gave buyers a reason to restock, and warehouse stocks got tight enough that prices moved higher just ahead of the spring alloy-steel order season.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q1 2026 in the United States?

Restocking after Q4 tightened warehouse availability fast. By the time spring buying season rolled around, the market had already climbed to USD 56,200/MT on its own.

Molybdenum Prices in China

China posted the sharpest move of the four markets this quarter. Prices jumped to USD 64,300/MT, up 19.1% from Q4 2025, as ore grades at the leading domestic mines kept declining and stainless-steel producers began restocking ahead of spring, reinforcing a tightening trend that carried straight into Q2.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q1 2026 in China?

Primary supply stayed pinched as ore grades kept slipping at the biggest domestic mines, while stainless-steel producers were already restocking for the spring construction season. Together that pushed the market to USD 64,300/MT.

Molybdenum Prices in Europe

European prices rose to USD 56,800/MT, up about 10.1% from Q4 2025. Alloy-steel activity picked up, import costs climbed with the tightening global concentrate market, and the ferromolybdenum benchmark moved higher as a result.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q1 2026 in Europe?

Nothing especially dramatic here, just steady alloy-steel demand meeting a global market that was tightening everywhere at once.

Molybdenum Prices in Chile

Chile advanced to USD 53,900/MT, roughly 13.2% above Q4 2025, tracking the global rally even from a discount position. Copper operations kept expanding, which is exactly why Chile stayed the most affordable market on the list, just at a slightly higher level than before.

Why did the price of Molybdenum change in Q1 2026 in Chile?

Byproduct volumes grew as copper operations expanded across the region, and realized prices simply moved up with everyone else's. Chile held its spot at the bottom of the price range, but the whole range shifted up this quarter.

Quarterly Molybdenum Price Trends

Six quarters, quite a ride. Prices climbed through the back half of 2025, corrected briefly in Q4, then took off again through the first half of 2026. The global average went from USD 47,180/MT in Q2 2025 to USD 53,730/MT in Q3, back to USD 50,700/MT in Q4, then up to USD 57,800/MT in Q1 2026 and USD 65,780/MT in Q2. Net gain across the window: about 39.4%. Behind it all sits declining ore grades in China, two separate mine-supply disruptions, and demand from stainless and aerospace alloy producers that never really let up.

What was Molybdenum Price in 2025?

2025 was bumpy but ended up firmer overall. The global average started near USD 45,930/MT in Q1, rallied through Q2 and Q3 as two separate mine-supply outages hit almost back to back, cooled off in Q4 once those disruptions eased, and closed the year at USD 50,700/MT. That's a gain of about 10.4%. Declining ore grades in China, growing byproduct output from expanding copper operations, and full order books at stainless, tool-steel, and aerospace superalloy producers drove that pattern most of the year, with Chinese export-policy tightening on molybdenum powders adding another layer of support on top.

Molybdenum Prices in the United States in 2025

US prices went from about USD 44,300/MT in Q1 to USD 49,600/MT by Q4, up 12.0% for the year. Byproduct output from copper mines grew, but a mid-year supply disruption ate into most of that gain. Steady demand from tool-steel and stainless producers kept the trend pointed upward regardless.

Molybdenum Prices in China in 2025

Chinese prices climbed from roughly USD 49,900/MT in Q1 to USD 54,000/MT by Q4, up about 8.2%. Ore grades kept slipping at the country's leading mines all year, and firm demand from stainless and wind-power steel producers kept things moving in the same direction.

Molybdenum Prices in Europe in 2025

European prices rose from about USD 47,000/MT in Q1 to USD 51,600/MT by Q4, a gain of roughly 9.8%. Alloy-steel activity picked back up over the course of the year, and rising import costs from the tightening global concentrate market added further support.

Molybdenum Prices in Chile in 2025

Chilean prices moved from roughly USD 42,500/MT in Q1 to USD 47,600/MT by Q4, up about 12.0%, as copper operations kept expanding byproduct output all year. That expansion is exactly why Chile held onto its spot as the most affordable market even while global prices climbed.

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Molybdenum prices don't move for one reason at a time, and that's the hard part about tracking them. Expert Market Research follows every major producing and consuming region and digs into what's actually behind the numbers, whether that's byproduct output from copper mines, ore-grade trends at primary mines, order books at stainless and alloy-steel producers, or demand swings in aerospace and power-generation superalloys. The forecasts pull together feedstock economics, trade flow data, capacity utilisation, and geopolitical risk, so clients understand the why, not just the what. Contact Expert Market Research today for molybdenum pricing data, bespoke market analysis, and strategic procurement advisory.