Antimony market still inactive

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 27 Jul 07 – Although Chinese antimony ingot producers still do not know when they can resume production, the price is difficult to be pushed higher due to weak demand, market sources reported to Asian Metal today.
A small smelter in Lengshuijiang, Hunan reported that except for Hsikwangshan Twinkling Star, other smelters in the region are still out of production. “We are expected to restart at the end of July, but we cannot make sure the exact time,” said the source.
According to the source, current concluded price of antimony ingot in the region is in a range of RMB37,500-38,000/t (USD4,960-5,026/t) VAT excluded. Smelters are reluctant to sell below RMB37,500/t VAT excluded while consumers are not ready to accept prices higher than RMB38,000/t ex works.
As smelters have been out of production for almost a month, the market supply has been declining. Most smelters, even if they had materials on hand before halting, are running low of stocks. Therefore, even though market demand keeps weak, producers seem to be confident that the price will hold high.
A Guangdong-based trader revealed that the antimony ingot price dropped a little early this week but rose again lately. “I regret not having bought some antimony ingot at USD5,300/t FOB this Tuesday as offers we received yesterday rose to USD5,500/t FOB,” said the source.
As the price has been fluctuating, the source said consumers are hesitant to place orders for fear of possible losses. However, more inquiries have been received recently from the U.S., India and other Asian countries, indicating that consumers are paying great attention to the market situation in China.