China Antimony products market&supply tight affected by heavy snow

Snowstorms raging across China's Hunan Province have lasted for two weeks, making the traffic situation graver in the province. Many antimony ingot and trioxide smelters have been forced to halt production due to lack of raw materials and power shortage. Coupled with the great difficulty in conveying goods, the antimony products market has come to a standstill.

A Hunan-based antimony ingot producer, with a capacity of 3,000tpy, stopped production ahead of schedule last week due to the harsh weather. According to an official from the smelter, Hunan province suffered its coldest winter as well as the longest snowfall in record in the past 50 years. Many antimony ingot and trioxide smelters in Loudi and Yiyang, the major antimony products producing areas, closed down due to the severe weather.

Located in the mountainous area, the smelter had great difficulty in transporting raw materials in and products out. It also delayed the delivery of contracted materials as the roads are covered with snow and ice.
The smelter sold some antimony ingot at and slightly above RMB39,000/t (USD5,417/t) ex works in the middle of January and suspended quoting a week ago when the weather condition worsens. "The market is likely to stay stagnant till the middle of February when participants return from the Spring Festival holiday," said the source.
A Guangdong-based trader said that all the contracted antimony trioxide will not be delivered on time to overseas customers due to the traffic chaos. "Heavy snow has paralyzed China's traffic. Combined with the Chinese New Year travel peak, it's impossible to deliver goods from smelters to ports now," said the source

The source confirmed that the antimony products market becomes quieter as traffic condition worsens. Most smelters suspend offering and plan to sell after the Spring Festival. The source received offers of USD4,900-5,000/t FOB China for antimony trioxide late last week, USD100/t up compared to the price two weeks ago, but none of his customers would like to purchase at the increased price.