Antimony trioxide,Antimony Ingot export price rise further

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 3 Jun 09 – Participants anticipate that the antimony ingot market will hold steady in June on back of tight material availability. Meanwhile, some producers and traders become more confident in the market in June taking into consideration the possible increase in demand from overseas market before summer vacation.
A Guangdong-based trader reported that the antimony ingot market appears to be firm presently. The source said, "Many producers claimed that they have no spot material to supply, but I think some of them are holding on for better prices."
The source said major smelters in Hunan currently offer RMB31,000/t (USD4,545/t) ex works and small ones offer RMB28,000/t (USD4,106/t) ex works VAT excluded for antimony ingot 99.65%min. However, the source has no plan to purchase the material as foreign buyers cannot accept the high price. "One of our customers in Europe said they would not buy antimony ingot at prices higher than USD4,700/t CIF Rotterdam," the source said.
The source used to export three or four containers of both antimony ingot and antimony trioxide every month last year, but has not concluded any deals of antimony ingot since early April. "The antimony demand, anyway, is a little stronger than it was in March and April in view of more inquiries in the market," the source added.
"The market supply is indeed tight. Although some producers are holding back from selling, they as well as some traders do not have large quantities of the material in stock," a Hunan-based antimony ingot producer said.
Due to short supply of raw material, the source is running with an output of only 70-80t per month. The source sold a batch of antimony ingot at RMB27,500/t (USD4,032/t) ex works VAT excluded in late May. Although he raised the offer to RMB28,000/t (USD4,106/t) ex works at the end of May, no deal has been concluded at such a price.
The source predicts that the antimony ingot market will keep stable at the current level or rise slightly in June, but he thinks it too early to anticipate the market in July and August.