Antimony Trioxide,Antimony ingot price keeps high

Antimony ingot price keeps at a high level in China and postures to rise further on the tight supply of raw material. Most producers in Hunan have raised their offers to above RMB40,000/t ex works and aim to push the price up to RMB43,000-44,000/t (USD6,296-6,442/t) ex works, the top level seen last year, sources reported to Asian Metal.
A Hunan-based producer does not quote at the moment and claimed that they would not sell antimony ingot 99.65%min at any prices lower than RMB40,000/t (USD5,857/t) ex works.
The source reported that the supply of antimony concentrate is very tight all-around and due to the sharp increase of antimony ingot, antimony concentrate suppliers are active in lifting offers. "It's risky replenish raw material at the current high level as it takes some time to process antimony concentrate into metal. Once the antimony ingot price drops but producers still hold raw material purchased at high levels, they will suffer great losses," said the source. Therefore, the source revealed that his smelter has stopped production early this month.
The source holds a stock of 70-80t but plans to hold back from selling for another few days. According to the source, many producers in the region are confident in pushing the price up to RMB43,000-44,000/t (USD6,296-6,442/t) ex works, the recode high price last year.
A Guangxi-based producer also takes high an expectation on the future market. The source, with a production capacity of around 500tpm for antimony ingot halted production early last month for lack of raw material. "The government is taking measures to crackdown illegal mining and thus many small-scale mines have been forced to shut down, leaving only some state-owned mines still working with limited output for antimony ore," said the source, who is seeking antimony concentrate all around the country.
The source has 100t of antimony ingot 99.65%min in stock but does not plan to sell the material at prices below RMB38,000/t (USD5,564/t) ex works VAT excluded. He predicts that the antimony ingot price is likely to keep firming up on the support of tight supply of raw material.