Antimony ingot prices up
2005-08-16 10:27:23 【Print】
BEIJING (Asian Metal) 16 Aug 05 – As market participants earlier anticipated, antimony ingot prices are gradually climbing up. The tight supply of materials is cited as the main reason for the price increase, market sources reported to Asian Metal today.
The reserves of the antimony concentrate have been constantly reducing since the Nandan accident in 2001, resulting in a relatively tighter antimony supply in the following years. With China’s sustained rapid economic growth, the demand for antimony from domestic market is increasing steadily and has compounded the already tight situation of the antimony supplies.
According to trader sources, domestic producers are unable to provide spot materials at the moment. Some smelters claim that their pre-September output has been contracted. Moreover, the high prices producers offered are also beyond traders’ budget limits.
“We can’t obtain materials from domestic producers,” a Hong Kong-based trader told Asian Metal. “Most of them have no spot materials to provide.” The source revealed that some suppliers quoted as high as USD3,600/t FOB for high-quality antimony ingot, which was impossible for either the company or foreign buyers to accept for the time being.
Like other traders who have insufficient stockpiles, the source is waiting for a time when domestic market is steady and foreign buyers begin to accept the increased high price.
With the support of the tight supply, many market participants hold that the antimony ingot price will soon surge up.
