China's imports of other antimony ores and concentrates continued to decline sharply on a MoM basis in June [reported by SMM]

On July 21, SMM reported that according to customs data, China's imports of other antimony ores and concentrates in June 2025 reached 1,824 mt, showing a significant MoM decline of approximately 21.44% compared to the 2,322.35 mt imported in May. Market participants indicated that although antimony market prices have stabilized recently, the substantial price spread between domestic and overseas antimony products continues to justify a significant reduction in imported antimony ore. The long-term trend of tight imported antimony raw material supply is expected to persist. As antimony prices stabilize, there may be an additional factor of domestic mines holding back sales due to bullish market expectations. Many market participants noted that due to the suspension of operations at many mines in the north and temporary halts in mining activities in some southern mining areas caused by various factors, the difficulty in purchasing antimony ore raw materials has become increasingly apparent. Consequently, most large antimony producers in major producing regions are operating with relatively low raw material inventory levels. In the short term, it is likely that many manufacturers in the market will continue to suspend or cut production.