Metal Information Center

Antimony prices drift lower in quiet market

August 30, 2007 – 6:56 am

NEW YORK — Antimony prices are drifting slightly lower in quiet market conditions, traders said.

U.S. traders quoted antimony in a range of $1.24 to $1.28 a pound ($2,730 to $2,820 a tonne) for good grade material, with off-grade metal in the low $1.20s a pound.

Prices hit a 15-month high of $3,000 a tonne in strong buying conditions at the end of the first quarter, but traders said activity was quiet in the wake of the correction that followed the surge. “Things will bounce back eventually, but no one’s sure when,” one trader said. “Chinese (demand) seems to be AMERICAN METAL MARKET quiet now, but they’re not flooding the market with material, either.”

Much of the run-up in prices earlier this year was attributed to strong demand from China together with continued supply shortages in that country in the wake of mine accidents in 2001.

Antimony reached a high of $3,350 a tonne in October 2002 and has traded between $2,000 and $3,000 ever since. Two years ago, the metal was trading as low as $1,280 a tonne.