Antimony prices gear up for new records on China export curbs
By Seher Dareen
Aug 15 (Reuters) -China's decision to restrict exports of antimony from Sept. 15 is likely to drive prices of the metal used in ammunition and batteries to new records, as buyers seek more material to stockpile, analysts and traders said on Thursday.
Prices of the minor metal ANT-LON, also used in fire-retardants, photovoltaic solar cells and military equipment, are already trading at all-time highs above $22,000 a metric ton, having roughly doubled since the start of the year due to a global deficit of the metal.
"Given we are still at record prices, it's likely that prices will go even higher with this announcement," said Chetan Soni at consultancy CRU, adding that prices could reach $30,000 as buyers would be looking to secure material for future production or stockpiling.
China is the world's largest antimony producer, accounting for 48% of global supplies at 83,000 tons last year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
It will impose export limits on antimony and related elements in the name of national security, China's commerce ministry said, its latest move to restrict shipments of critical minerals where it is the dominant supplier.
This could widen the deficit in the antimony market, which consultancy Project Blue estimated at 10,000 tons in May.
"China has already been cutting down on metal exports as they are consuming it all domestically," said Jack Bedder, co-founder of Project Blue.
European refineries of antimony trioxide have increased supply from Tajikistan, Vietnam and Myanmar to diversify from the Chinese feed, while India increased antimony ingot supplies to the United States, he said.
Another upsurge in antimony prices will reinforce the western world's reliance on China for critical minerals, which also include rare earths, gallium and germanium, exports of which are also restricted since last year.
In those cases, exports quickly flatlined after export licence requirements were introduced, before rising again, a trend which could be seen with antimony exporters now needing to apply for a licence, CRU's Soni said.
Other major producers of antimony include Myanmar, which accounted for 4,600 tons last year, Turkey for 6,000 tons and Tajikstan for 21,000 tons, according to USGS.
"The prospects of a small but antimony-rich country, Tajikistan, look good now," said Alexey Kabanov, CEO at Swiss-based trading firm Voyager Group.
The tight market conditions are partly because of disruptions in supply from Russia due to sanctions imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and Russia's lower domestic production. Russia produced 4,300 tons in 2023, data from USGS showed.
"There is no pipeline of supply to turn on," said Christopher Ecclestone, a principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company in London, adding that prices could easily climb above $30,000 this year.
Antimony mine supply https://tmsnrt.rs/3X7NO31
Antimony ingot supply https://tmsnrt.rs/3YIhtlt
Refined antimony trioxide (ATO) supply https://tmsnrt.rs/3ytcRFq
Antimony prices Antimony ingot trading at record prices https://reut.rs/3YH9Uvx
Reporting by Seher Dareen, Swati Verma, and Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru, and Polina Devitt in London, additional reporting by Sherin Elizabeth Varghese; editing by Pratima Desai and Jane Merriman
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
