Consumers inactive in buying antimony ingot

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 28 Feb 08 - Antimony ingot market has shown some signs of slowing down with more smelters resuming production. Many consumers claimed that they would not rush into purchasing in the hope of buying at lower prices in March.
A Hunan-based antimony trioxide producer has no plan to purchase antimony ingot in the following two weeks. The source revealed that the previous purchase was made ten days ago at RMB38,500/t (USD5,385/t) VAT excluded for 99.9% antimony ingot. "However, some smelters claimed that they have difficulty selling at RMB38,000/t (USD5,315/t) VAT excluded now," said the source.
The source revealed that the antimony trioxide market is also inactive. Downstream buyers keep resisting higher prices of antimony trioxide. "We only concluded some small deals at RMB37,000-37,200/t (USD5,175-5,203/t) ex works, and our customers refused to accept any higher prices," said the source. With a capacity of 300tpm for antimony trioxide, the smelter is producing according to orders at the time being.
Another Guangdong-based antimony trioxide producer also has no intention of purchasing antimony ingot as the current stock is sufficient to satisfy the production till the middle of next month.
According to the source, his previous purchase was conducted at the eve of Spring Festival at RMB39,500- 39,600/t (USD5,524-5,539/t) ex works. "Some major suppliers who quoted RMB41,500/t (USD5,804/t) ex works right after the Spring Festival lowered offers to RMB41,000-41,300/t (USD5,734-5,776/t) ex works now, but we still have no interest in buying as we strongly believe that the price will come down soon," said the source.