Strong demand from European users and short supplies from China conspired to push Antimony prices to a new record

Author: Pratima Desai (Reuters)
Posted: Friday , 28 Jan 2011

LONDON (Reuters) -

Antimony prices vaulted to record highs again this week as strong demand from consumers in Europe met short supplies from top producer China, traders said.

The minor metal used to fire-proof paints and plastics ANT-LON rose to an all-time high of $13,500/14,000 a tonne from $13,000/$13,500 a tonne last week. It has hit consecutive new record highs since last November.

"There's no let up at all, there is very little coming out of China. Environmental inspections have meant most of the smelters producing antimony in China have been closed down," a London-based trader said.

Prices have jumped more than 230 percent since hitting four-year lows of $4,100 a tonne in April 2009 when fears that a deep recession could turn into a 1930s style depression prompted consumers to slash inventories.

Chinese authorities in the Hunan province closed hundreds of small or illegal antimony smelters early last year, as it tried to consolidate the industry and manage supplies.

In the city of Lengshuijiang, which contributes about 60 percent of world output, hundreds of illegal antimony smelters were shut down late March last year.

"Demand in Europe is picking up, where do we go from here, perhaps $15,000 or even higher," a UK-based trader said.

Antimony is extracted from stibnite ore and is also a byproduct of silver, copper and lead. It increases flame retardant effectiveness in plastics, paints, adhesives, sealants, rubber and textile back coatings.

Without antimony, plastics used in applications such as computer casings and televisions would melt.