Molycorp is showing good relative strength due to the firmness of moly prices. Theres a worldwide shortage of this metal, and eventually I hope we break out of this channel. heres an article to demonstrate what Im talking about:

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Molybdenum producer Thompson Creek Metals has not seen any weakening of demand for the metal and expects the market to remain strong going forward, chairperson and CEO Kevin Loughrey said on Friday.

Although some customers, such as ones that supplied to the automotive industry, had slowed purchases, these were more than offset by increased demand elsewhere, he commented on a conference call.

The spot market remained strong, with prices edging up slowly, which was more than could be said for other commodities, Loughrey pointed out.

“So we think the molybdenum demand relative to those other commodities is strong, and our outlook for the molybdenum continues to be good.”

The price of molybdenum has risen from around $10/lb in 2004, to a peak of around $40/lb a year later, and is currently at about $33/lb.

Global molybdenum demand rose to around 440-million pounds last year. The metal is used to strengthen high-end stainless steel, in steel pipes and drills, and other extreme high- or low-temperature applications, as well as to prevent corrosion.

About 55% of the world's molybdenum is produced as a by-product from copper mines, and the balance is produced by primary molybdenum mines, like Thompson Creek's Endako and Thompson Creek mines, in British Columbia and Idaho respectively.