Antimony market summary Oct 9-13

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 16 Oct 06 - Many Chinese suppliers have begun to raise their offers for antimony ingot in both the local and export market following the end of the week long holiday. Some smelters claimed that they received more inquiries from both end-user and trader, which prompted them to quote higher prices, though buyers considered the psychological factor to be the key reason for the price increase.
A small-scaled smelter in Lengshuijiang of Hunan province, who sold antimony ingot at a price below RMB36,000/t VAT excluded, lifted the price to RMB37,000/t VAT excluded at the beginning of the week, and then to RMB37,800/t VAT excluded on last Friday. According to the source, the smelter is running with a monthly output of only 100tpm, far less than its designed capacity, due to shortage of raw materials.
A Guangdong-based trader confirmed the price increase in the domestic market during the weeklong holiday, citing that the offers received early in the week were nearly RMB2,000/t, higher than that at the end of Sep which was hovering at around RMB35,500/t VAT excluded. Furthermore, suppliers continued to increase offers in the following days, and some consumers reported that the offers they received late in the week have edged up to RMB41,000/t (USD5,183/t) ex works.
With higher prices quoted by domestic suppliers, many traders suspended offering to overseas buyers so as to get clearer about the market condition. According to European sources, offers they received after the Chinese National Day holiday were USD100/t higher than that in late Sep when prices stood at around USD5,150-5,200/t CIF Rotterdam. Additionally, a few deals were reportedly concluded at around USD5,300-5,350/t in warehouse Rotterdam for standard gradetwo antimony ingot.
Meanwhile, the antimony trioxide market failed to follow the trend of antimony ingot, with suppliers reporting low activity. Concluded price of the materials still remained at around USD35,500-36,000/t in the local market with a few producers able to offer lower prices. The export market, at the same time, remained level, with offers standing at around USD4,500- 4,550/t FOB. However, products with Twinkling Star materials are offered at a higher price of around USD4,600/t FOB.