Antimony market summary Oct

Antimony market witnesses a week of calmness with few activities taking place both domestically and overseas. As the market demand shows no signs of recovering, many participants predict that the market will continue to stand still in the near term.

A few deals were concluded at around RMB40,000-40,200/t (USD5,355-5,382/t) ex works for standard grade-two antimony ingot during the week, and some major smelters, qualified suppliers for antimony products, claimed deals of RMB40,300-40,500/t (USD5,395-5,422/t) ex works for materials with superior quality and famous brand name. Meanwhile, some smelters who hold positive attitudes towards the future market refuse to sell any below RMB40,000/t (USD5,355/t) ex works. However, some antimony trioxide producers disclosed that they could obtain materials at around RMB39,800/t (USD5,328/t) ex works from long-term suppliers in Hunan.

The export market for antimony ingot keeps quiet with many market participants complaining about the lack of deals. Few foreign buyers are showing interest in buying from Chinese state-owned exporters due to their high offer of USD5,700-5,800/t FOB. Although some traders received one or two inquiries during the week, they reported no response after they made offers to buyers. Many participants attribute the severe smuggling to the dull export market for antimony products, revealing that European buyers can easily obtain antimony ingot at USD5,550-5,600/t CIF Rotterdam for materials with undisclosed origin.

The European market for antimony ingot also keeps slack. Only some small deals of few tonnages were reportedly concluded at around USD5,600-5,650/t in warehouse Rotterdam for standard grade-two material and around USD50/t higher for grade-one material..

The antimony trioxide market also has not changed much during the past few weeks. Domestic prices are still around RMB36,300-36,800/t (USD4,859-4,926/t) ex works, and export prices stand at USD4,800-4,850/t FOB. Meanwhile, products with famous brand are offered at a higher price of USD4,900/t FOB or USD5,000/t CIF Rotterdam. However, limited deals were heard of in both domestic and export markets during the week.