Antimony market drops further in China

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 26 Jun 08 – Antimony market drops further in China due to the low spot demand from both domestic and export market.
A Hunan-based smelter with a monthly production capacity of around 300 tons concluded 30 tons of grade zero antimony ingot at RMB41,500/t (USD6,041/t) last week, down from RMB41,700/t (USD6,070/t) in the beginning of June. The source explained that buyers expect the market to drop further because of the coming summer holiday season. Therefore, they refuse to accept high quotations. “We have no choice but to lower our quotations so as to release the metal.”
The source puts the mainstream price of grade two antimony ingot at RMB40,500-41,000/t (USD5,895- 5,968/t) this week, down from RMB41,000-41,500/t (USD5,968-6,041/t) two weeks ago.
Another Hunan-based smelter concluded around 100 tons of antimony ingot totally in June. The concluded price of grade two antimony ingot is around RMB40,500-41,000/t (USD5,895-5,968/t) this week, down from RMB41,200/t (USD5,997/t) two weeks ago.
“Though the antimony concentrate is still in tight supply, the decrease in the export volume and the export price may also drag down the price in domestic market,” said the source.