Antimony market summary Jun 25-29

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 2 Jul 07 – Most suppliers have been busy arranging shipment of contracted antimony trioxide before the end of July during the week. Antimony trioxide market is still stagnant after the announcement of the removal of 5% export tax rebate, effective July 1, 2007. Although suppliers raised offers by USD50-100/t to USD4,550-4,600/t FOB to cope with the extra cost associated with tax revision, few buyers accepted the price adjustment.
Antimony trioxide market continues to be dull in China. Smelters reported slack business during the week, and some revealed it was hard to sell at RMB35,000/t (USD4,593/t) ex works. Due to the weak demand, some smelters, who have more stocks piled up, were forced to reduce output.
Meanwhile, antimony ingot market sees a price decrease in the week. Not only small smelters but also major smelters cut off quotations to attract buyers. Although many smelters held offers of RMB38,000-38,500/t ex works, consumers claimed that they could obtain materials at RMB37,200-37,500/t (USD4,882-4,921/t) ex works. Furthermore, some small smelters in Lengshuijiang, Hunan undersold at RMB34,000-34,500/t (USD4,462-4,528/t) VAT excluded. Due to the sluggish market, more smelters were compelled to halt production.
The export market for antimony ingot also keeps weakening. Affected by weak demand from international market, exporters have to lower offers to stimulate consumer demand. Some buyers reported that they received lower offers of USD5,150-5,200/t FOB from China while some stateowned exporters still stuck to prices above USD5,300/t FOB. As westerners are about to leave the market for summer holidays, international market will keep quiet in the following month.
Therefore, export market for antimony ingot is likely to remain flat unless something unexpectedly happens.