The price of antimony ingot 99.65%min decreased owing to weak demand in spot market. Presently the mainstream offering price of antimony ingot 99.65%min is in the range of RMB88,000-90,000t ex works or RMB80,000-82,000t VAT excluded in Hunan, down by RMB500t USD78t from that in late last week.Antimony trioxide market calms down following the price decrease of antimony ingot and trioxide as consumers make hand-to-mouth purchase and are waiting for a clearer market after the 7-day long National Day holiday.

Antimony ingot market saw few deals in the past weeks as part of suppliers held back from selling and part of them did not offer due to limited stock. They all expect the price of antimony ingot to keep rising in the whole September, because smelters in Lengshuijiang area cannot resume production before October.The price of antimony trioxide 99.5%min is in the range of RMB87,000-88,000t (USD13,636-13,793t)ex works in Hunan, and customers make a hand-to-mouth purchase, so there were few deals in spot market.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, the export price of antimony trioxide hiked owing to increasing inquiries from overseas market. A Guangdong-based exporter with an export volume of 80-100tpm told that he offers about USD13,500-13,600t FOB China for antimony trioxide 99.5%min after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.However, there are thin trading activities in spot market as downstream customers take a hand-to-mouth purchasing style and a watchful attitude toward the future market.

After the news that smelters of antimony ingot in Lengshuijiang area shut down for environmental inspection went around, speculators and producers raised their offers higher and higher. A Hunan-based producer with an output of about 500tpm said that he does not offer now.In European market,an influx of buyers suggests that prices may begin to increase in the latter half of September.