Antimony trioxide,Antimony ingot price holds high

BEIJING (Asian Metal) 28 Dec 09 – Antimony ingot price is still hovering at a comparatively high level because of the shortage of antimony ore. Most large producers would like to watch the market for the time A Hunan-based smelter, whose monthly output was 100-200tpm, told Asian Metal that they quote at RMB41,800/t (USD6,120/t) ex works for antimony ingot 99.65%min now. "It is really hard for us to purchase antimony ore at present, so we have no intention to sell our products at any lower prices," the source said, adding that they still hold some stocks on hand.
The source predicts that antimony ingot price will be stable in the first half of next month, but might decrease a little because of the increasing stocks in the market after mid-January. "The economy is recovering so slowly that we even can't feel any improvement," the source lamented.
A Hunan-based consumer, who usually purchases antimony ingot to produce antimony trioxide, confirmed that they have difficulties in finding antimony ingot now. "Large producers who have some stocks are unwilling to sell, claiming that they want to wait and see the market," the source said, adding that one producer quoted him as high as RMB42,500/t (USD6,223/t) ex works in mid-December.
The source anticipates that antimony ingot price will go up further in the first month of next year. "It is not favorable for us if antimony ingot price is too high, because our consumers will reduce their production to lower the consumption of antimony trioxide at that time," the source said.