Price boost for boric acid, iodine and rare earths, while antimony falls

摘要

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.