Guidance prices for various series of domestic large stainless steel mills on July 17 [SMM Steel Mill Guidance Price]

Chile's central bank reported on September 1 that the July Imacec economic activity index fell 1.5% year-on-year on an unadjusted basis. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index fell 2.1% year-on-year and 1.7% month-on-month, marking the steepest monthly decline since 2022. The bank attributed the drop mainly to mining, which fell a significant 9.3%, primarily due to weather conditions, followed by lower ore grades and equipment maintenance that disrupted normal production operations. Many of the affected mines are copper-molybdenum associated deposits. Since molybdenum concentrate is recovered as a byproduct of the flotation process used to treat copper sulfide ore, the disruption to processing plants also curtailed molybdenum output.

【SMM Molybdenum Analysis 】 SMM News on September 3: In August, China’s molybdenum market maintained a tight balance characterized by relatively tight supply and support from rigid demand. Overall prices rose first and then stabilized, consolidating at highs. 45% molybdenum concentrates shot up to 5,455 yuan/mtu during August 19–25, remaining firmly in the three-year high range; this simultaneously drove spot 60% ferromolybdenum to rise, reaching a phased high of 344,000 yuan/mt on August 24–25.

On August 31, Chile's National Statistics Institute (INE) reported that the country's industrial production index fell 5.1% year-on-year in July. Within that, the mining production index (IPMin) declined 7.2%, with metallic mining down 10.7%, subtracting 9.301 percentage points from the index, mainly on lower copper extraction and processing. USGS data show Chile accounted for roughly 16% of global molybdenum output in 2025. The recent output losses at Chile's copper-molybdenum mines have been concentrated at the beneficiation stage, which hits by-product molybdenum harder than copper; global molybdenum supply is therefore expected to feel the impact in 2026.