Antimony products market stagnant-Antimony market summary Jan 21-25

Antimony market sees few activities during the week as traffic in many parts of Souch China has come to a standstill due to the infrequent heavy snow. However, most Chinese smelters hold high offers of antimony ingot and trioxide, expecting a better market after the Spring Festival.
 Both major producers and small scaled smelters have been troubled by the traffic chaos, and many of them were forced to reduce or even halt production due to short supply of raw materials. Meanwhile, few concluded deals have been reported as it is hard to transport goods out of smelters to end users or ports. Considering the market supply may be tighter if more smelters stop production before the Spring Festival, many smelters take high expectations towards the market after the Spring Festival, and therefore insist on high quotations. Some major producers cease quoting and some quote as high as RMB40,000/t (USD5,548/t) ex works to keep buyers away, but limited deals were concluded at prices above RMB39,000/t (USD5,409/t) ex works. Meanwhile, small smelters in Lengshuijiang also hold the offer of around RMB37,000-37,300/t (USD5,132-5,173/t) VAT excluded, but few deals were closed due to the transportation difficulty.
Antimony trioxide producers also encounter the same problem that raw material supply is erratic and price goes higher. Therefore, many of them raise offers to RMB36,000-36,500/t (USD4,993-5,062/t) ex works. However, due to the bad traffic condition, little new business has been done during the week, and many producers are trying their best to fulfill the signed contracts, many of which were concluded at RMB34,500- 35,000/t (USD4,785-4,854/t) ex works.
Prompted by higher quotations in Chinese domestic market, temporary tight supply caused by bad traffic condition as well as appreciation of RMB, suppliers also raise export quotations of antimony ingot and trioxide greatly. Foreign buyers reported that they received higher offers of USD5,600-5,650/t CIF Rotterdam for strandard grade-two antimony ingot, USD50-100/t higher compared to two weeks ago. Meanwhile, Chinese traders continue to raise quotations of antimony trioxide to USD4,900-4,950/t FOB from USD4,850-4,900/t FOB the previous week, though few deals were reported. Meanwhile, Hsikwangshan insists on a higher offer of USD5,000/t FOB for its Twinkling Star antimony trioxide as the supply turns tigher led by short supply of raw material.