European antimony traders refuse to lower offers

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 24 Nov 06 – Demand of antimony is slow in Europe with offers from
China remaining stable, and European traders refuse to lower their prices too.
A European trader revealed to Asian Metal that the offers from Chinese suppliers are slightly
below USD5,500/t CIF Rotterdam for grade two antimony ingot with low bismuth content, and
below USD5,400/t CIF Rotterdam for the standard grade two antimony ingot.
According to the source, the demand of antimony is a little slow. However, no one is lowering the
offering price, especially the European traders. “We all paid at higher prices, and we do not
want to offer at below what we paid.”
Another trader complained to Asian Metal the same situation that he had booked material at
higher than USD5,400/t CIF Rotterdam, and he is offering at a little above USD5,500/t in
warehouse Rotterdam now.
As December is coming closer, traders hope that demand would pick up in the coming weeks as
they believe consumers will come back to the market for the January delivery.