Some Chinese antimony suppliers refuse to sell

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 22 May 08 – Some antimony suppliers would rather hold stocks from selling,because they could not get enough raw material, antimony concentrates. Some others hope that they could push the price up further by releasing less of the metal to the market.
A Hunan-based smelter with a monthly production capacity of 150 tons concluded 80 tons of regular gradeone antimony ingot at RMB41,600/t (USD5,943/t) late last week. They do not quote and do not plan to sell the metal this week. “Recently, we received fewer inquiries than before. Many buyers may watch the
market. In that case, the market may become stable instead of going up, ” said the source, adding, “Therefore, we’d better stay away from the market too. After a period of confrontation, buyers may begin to accept the high prices.”
The source added that they could not get enough antimony concentrates at present. One of the main reasons is the government’s strict control on explosives.
A South China-based smelter with a monthly production capacity of around 80-100 tons concluded around 100 tons of regular grade-one antimony ingot at RMB38,500/t (USD5,500/t) VAT excluded two weeks ago. They do not want to sell the metal this week, while some other smelters quote RMB38,700-38,800/t (USD5,529-5,543/t) VAT excluded.
The source said, “it is difficult to get antimony concentrates at present, especially high-grade materials. That’s one of the reasons we do not want to sell the metal.” According to the source, the price of antimony concentrates increased from RMB29,000-30,000/t (USD4,143-4,286/t) VAT excluded early this month to RMB30,500-31,000/t (USD4,357-4,429/t) VAT excluded due to its tight supply caused by the government’s control on explosives. Therefore, he believes that the price of antimony ingot may go up further.
A Lengshuijiang-based smelter with a monthly production capacity of 300 tons concluded 50 tons of regular grade-two antimony ingot at RMB42,000/t (USD6,000/t) this Tuesday. Their last deal was concluded at RMB41,800-42,000/t (USD5,971-6,000/t) late last week.
According to the source, many Lengshuijiang-based smelters refuse to sell the metal, because they want to push the price up further.