[+/-] : Antimony trioxide export market dips in China

10 Sep 08 – Chinese exporters reported few deals with the concluded price decreasing. Participants believe it is the reasonable for the adjustment of the market itself as buyers have purchased a lot in the past months.
A large South China-based trioxide smelter stated that they quote USD5,600/t FOB China for antimony trioxide 99.5%min, and the deals could be concluded at USD5,500/t FOB China, down from USD5,600-5,700/t FOB China two to three weeks ago.
The source revealed that it is very difficult to conclude deals at USD5,600/t FOB China for famous brand materials. He puts the mainstream price for all kinds of antimony trioxide at USD5,400-5,500/t FOB China this week, down by around USD100/t from two weeks ago.
Another large South China-based trioxide smelter reported several deals at USD5,500/t FOB China, down from the last deal of USD5,600/t FOB China in the end of August. "The market has been very quiet in the recent two weeks and the price decreased by around USD100/t from two weeks ago," said the source, believing that it is reasonable for the price to go down as buyers has purchased a lot in the usual quiet season in July and August. However, they still hold stocks on hand. Therefore, there are fewer inquiries from buyers now than in August.

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[+/-] : Chinese antimony trioxide market drops

10 Sep 08 – Chinese antimony market drops this week as buyers stay away from the market and stop making purchases because they believe the market is going to decrease further.
An export enterprise supplier reported deals of antimony trioxide 99.5%min with exporters at around RMB37,000/t down from RMB37,000-37,500/t several days ago. The price for domestic sales is at around RMB37,200-37,300/t for the same grade materials, down from RMB37,500-38,000/t two weeks ago.
The source said, "The market is very quiet this week and we received fewer inquiries this week than last week." She believes that the market may decrease further slightly in the near future as according to her, buyers find the market is decreasing and may not come back to the market within two weeks. Where the market will go in the future depends on buyers demand for the trioxide material.
A Hunan-based smelter with a monthly production capacity of around 300 tons reported around 50 tons of antimony trioxide early this week concluded at RMB36,500-37,000/t.
The source puts the mainstream price of all grade antimony triode at RMB36,500-37,500/t at present. She confirmed that the market is decreasing but they find that it is difficult to get antimony ingot again. Therefore, the source believes that the market may increase slightly due to the above mentioned reason.

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[+/-] : Producers: Magnesium ingots market to stabilize

9 Sep 08 – Producers believe that the magnesium ingot market is leveling off after the price falls from RMB36,000-36,500/t (USD5,263-5,336/t) ex works early June to current RMB24,000-24,500/t (USD3,509-3,582/t) ex works which is close to the production cost. However, they are not confident in saying that more activity will be seen in the market in the rest of this month as most consumers still have little interest in purchasing.
"I don't think the magnesium ingot price will drop further; otherwise, more producers who will run at a loss may have to shut down," an official from a Shanxi-based smelter said to Asian Metal.
The source currently holds the quotation higher than RMB24,500/t (USD3,582/t) ex works but no deal has been concluded since early this month. The source acknowledged that more deals were reportedly concluded at RMB24,100-24,300/t (USD3,523-3,553/t) ex works during the past week and also heard of the low price of RMB23,800-23,900/t (USD3,480-3,494/t) ex works that appeared in Fugu, Shaanxi.
The smelter is running with an output of around 700-800tpm and the expansion project is underway. Its total capacity will reach 15,000tpy after the new furnaces are put into production in October. Considering that more new smelters or expansion projects will put into production soon, the source predicts that the magnesium market will keep low in the rest of this year with prices fluctuating around the production cost.
A major Ningxia-based producer with a capacity of 1,500tpm reported a concluded deal at RMB24,200/t (USD3,538/t) ex works. The source revealed that the company is focusing on domestic sales, and no export business has been closed over the past several weeks as most foreign buyers shunned the market.
The source also believes that there will be little room for magnesium ingot price to go down further in view of the increased production cost. "The current price is approaching the bottom line, so smelters will try their best to prevent the price from going lower," said the source.
With a stock of 200-300t, the source also takes a negative expectation on the future market, believing that situation of oversupply is likely to keep up to the fourth quarter.

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[+/-] : Manganese flakes export market sees stronger demand

9 Sep 08 - Manganese market sees stronger demand from foreign buyers when most of them have been back from vacation, but the offers from Chinese suppliers remain low at the moment.
A Hunan-based supplier who offers USD3,800/t FOB told Asian Metal that they received many inquiries these two days. "One Spanish buyer inquiried 150t for manganese ingot, to be delivered late this month and another Germany trader asked for two cargos of manganese flakes to be delivered in early October," said the source who still holds some stocks at hand. The source claimed that the low prices might attract more foreign buyers to place orders. "And the buyers also need to consider purchasing raw materials for their production in the fourth quarter this year or early next year."
The source claimed that some suppliers might be willing to offer much lower prices at the moment to release part of the stocks. "No one is sure how the future market would go even if demand slightly goes stronger," said the source. "And some deals in larger quantities are concluded at prices of around USD3,750-3,800/t FOB."
Another Hunan-based trader also received some offers from foreign buyers. "Our offer is around USD3,850t FOB," said the source who thinks the price very workable for them at the moment. The source does not expect the market to move down further. "Even if the profits keep dropping, we believe more smelters would cut down their production to reduce supply, which may lead to a stable market if not a upward one."
AThe source claimed that many foreign buyers woulld just leave aside very small stocks at hand and might have to return to the market for some material. "Thus demand of the market might increase though it may not be strong," said the source who blames the slowing down global economy for the sluggish manganese market.

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[+/-] : Manganese flakes export price keeps dropping

4 Sep 08 - Manganese suppliers have cut down their offers significantly due to the remaining stagnant demand in both domestic and export markets. The export quotation has been low at around USD3,850/t FOB for the moment while still few foreign buyers are interested till the moment.
A Hunan-based exporter confirmed that they received very few inquiries recently. "Most foreign buyers have been back from vacation but they are inactive in purchasing for the moment. They are hesitant to purchase for the moment and the orders are mostly in very small quantities of just one to two truckloads," said the source who has already lowered their offers to around USD3,800/t FOB from USD3,900/t FOB late last week. However, no reply has been received yet.
The source claimed that they have still not booked out the output in September and thus they are eager to conclude some deals. "But many buyers keep some stocks at hand and they are in no hurry to purchase at the moment when the market is still low and the price keeps dropping." The source believes that current manganese price has almost touched the bottom line and the price might stop sliding while most exporters get slim profits at such low price and the Customs still fix quite high price floor.
Another Guangxi-based smelter has booked out most of its products this month. "We signed some big deals at around RMB21,000/t ex works and just leave aside 300t of the material by the end of this month," said the source who also lowered their offers to USD3,950/t CIF Rotterdam from USD3,950/t FOB early this month. "Some buyers claimed that they could find some prices of around USD3,900/t CIF Rotterdam, which we could barely get any profits."
The source expects manganese demand to go up in the middle of the month when more consumers would place some orders for the material to be delivered in the last quarter of the year. "However, as the overall market is slowing down, the manganese market might be no exception. Our only wish is that the market would keep stable at current level or many domestic smelters might cut down or halt production again," said the source who reported that the domestic manganese price drops to around RMB20,000/t (USD2,924/t) ex works.

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