Antimony market summary Jul 16-20

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 23 Jul 07 – Although prices of antimony products have been raised to a higher level in China, consumer demand still remains weak. Meanwhile, European market also keeps quiet as consumers and traders are absent for holidays.
After Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star Co.,Ltd. resumed production, other closed mines and smelters are expected to restart soon after they pass the checkup by the national and provincial environmental bureaus. Coupled with the weak demand, antimony ingot market has shown a little sign of slowdown as some smelters in Lengshuijiang, Hunan lowered offers to around RMB37,500/t (USD4,954/t) VAT excluded from RMB38,500/t VAT (USD5,086/t) excluded at the beginning of the week. Major smelters, including closed ones or those in normal production, reported it is hard to sell at prices above RMB41,500/t (USD5,482/t) ex works. Some even
revealed that consumers refused to accept offers above RMZB40,500/t (USD5,350/t) ex works.
Prompted by increased prices of antimony ingot, antimony trioxide prices also saw higher offers of RMB37,500/t (USD4,954/t) ex works. However, few deals were concluded at prices above RMB37,000/t (USD4,888/t) ex works.
At the export aspect, although traders raised offers of antimony ingot to USD5,550-5,600/t CIF Rotterdam and USD4,950-5,100/t CIF Rotterdam for antimony trioxide, they seldom got response from overseas buyers who are either on holiday or show little interest in purchasing. Many think the price will slip soon as Hunan smelters might resume production and demand in the world market keeps low.