European antimony consumers receive high offers

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 11 Apr 08 – As supply becomes tight, European antimony consumers received higher offers at USD5,800-5,900/t CIF Rotterdam, and they believe the congested port and short supply of concentrate are the reasons for the higher prices.
A European consumer confirmed the price had increased by USD100/t, and the current mainstream price of 99.65%min grade two antimony ingot is in the range of USD5,800-5,900/t CIF Rotterdam.
He learned that there are some problems with the port congestion in Vietnam, creating logistics and traffic problems for suppliers and dealers. However, he believes this is only for temporary, and hopes things will get back to normal in the next couple of weeks.
Another reason is the fact that the mines reduced concentrate production in February, which makes the smelters finding it difficult to find raw material feed.
He claimed that the exchange rate of weak dollar is a minor influence to the current increasing antimony prices. And when one converts U.S. dollar into EURO, the price of antimony had not changed much.
Another consumer disclosed that the price now increased from USD5,650-5,750/t to currently USD5,750- 5,950/t CIF Rotterdam, and the reason for the higher prices were the port congestion, and shortage of concentrate. As for the weak dollar, the source said: "antimony was pure dollar business before, and now,
some of my suppliers ask me to pay in EURO."
He feels the availability is getting tight, and it is a little difficult to find material around at desired prices. "The next few weeks can be difficult for us."