Antimony trioxide
Prices of antimony trioxide, a key raw material for the production of flame retardants and other chemicals, have softened further in recent weeks within China, in line with antimony metal prices.
The decline is due in part to weaker demand from consumers in Europe and Asia - especially in Japan - following the 11 March earthquake and tsunami. This has coincided with the arrival of more supply in the market with the restart of nine smelters that had been closed by the government in Hunan province.
A trader based in China told IM that since the government granted approval for the smelters to resume at the beginning of April, “the antimony metal price has gone down and it continues to go down”.
The source added: “The price of raw material is going down rapidly... but still no buyers are interested. Many Chinese...