Antimony Prices Continue Downward Trend [SMM Antimony Spot Market Weekly Review]

I. Weekly Price Review

The antimony market continued its downward trend this week, with prices weakening further. The average price of #1 antimony ingot was 110,500 yuan/mt on July 6, falling to 109,500 yuan/mt by July 8, a weekly decline of approximately 1%. The average price of 99.8% antimony trioxide was around 95,500 yuan/mt, dropping below the 100,000 yuan/mt mark, extending its week-over-week decline. Prices showed no clear signs of stopping their fall and stabilizing, with market sentiment staying bearish.

II. Market Supply Conditions

Supply side, total mining quotas for antimony ore remained tightly restricted, and capacity at small and medium mines was exiting the market at an accelerated pace. With no major new mines entering production globally, supply-side elasticity was limited. However, due to the impact of recent months' imported ore, actual raw material availability in the market was relatively ample.

On the import front, China's antimony ore and concentrates imports reached 48,658.88 mt, January-May 2026, surging more than 20-fold YoY (+202.39%), compared to only 16,091.65 mt in the same period last year. Import sources became more diversified: Thailand and Myanmar maintained their traditional major roles, while Spain emerged as a new major source for the first time (4,715.7 mt in April alone). However, its declared unit price of $2,402.58/mt was significantly lower than those from Thailand ($7,474/mt) and Myanmar ($7,628/mt), which was widely seen in the market as low-grade ore or trader resale activity, casting doubt on its sustainability. Market participants also widely viewed these anomalies in the import data as difficult to sustain, with the marginal pressure from imports on the market expected to gradually ease in H2.

III. Changes in Exports and Imports

Export side, under strict enforcement of controls, the overall picture showed zero exports of unwrought antimony alongside a continued sharp contraction in antimony trioxide exports on a YoY basis. The specific data is shown in the table below:

In terms of export destinations, antimony trioxide exports had shifted markedly from traditional markets such as the US and Europe to emerging destinations including Russia, Thailand, and Turkey. On the policy front, the Ministry of Commerce issued a notice on June 24, 2026, that improved the mechanism for reporting and handling violations of export control regulations on dual-use items related to strategic minerals, covering six core strategic commodities including antimony, with no easing of export control policies in sight.

4. End-Use Demand Status

Demand in the PV glass industry remains in a cyclical weak phase. Recently, industry orders have continued to weaken, and multiple producers have initiated or planned production halts for maintenance. Affected by this, enterprises are only maintaining essential restocking in procurement of sodium pyroantimonate, with minimal new purchase demand. On the flame retardant side, as bromine prices pull back, in sectors like electronics and electrical appliances where stringent requirements for both flame retardant performance and cost exist, the bromine-antimony synergistic system remains irreplaceable, so orders have slightly improved compared to the earlier period, and procurement volumes have rebounded slightly.

In the short term, affected by the continuing PV off-season and inertial bearish sentiment, antimony prices may still test lower levels, but the downside room is narrowing, and cost support is beginning to emerge. Market confidence is also recovering. Currently, the market generally views 100,000 yuan/mt as the key support level for this round of decline, with strong bottom support. It is expected that the pace of decline in antimony prices will slow down in Q3.