China’s antimony metal output declined in January on the month and on the year as most smelters had to lower production on a persistent shortage of concentrate supplies.

China’s January production of antimony metal fell to 7,142t from 8,178t in December 2021, and was down from 7,643t a year earlier, according to data from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA).

Production is likely to fall further in February as most producers cut or halted output during the lunar new year holiday and postponed production restarts on a shortfall of concentrate availability.

Export prices for the metal were assessed at $13,000-13,300/t fob on 1 March, up by $200/t from the assessment on 24 February, in line with higher domestic prices and supply tightness outside of China.

Prices are likely to move up further as many smelters in Hunan province’s Lengshuijiang city, the antimony production hub in China, may shut down metal production if concentrate supplies tighten further on Covid-19 restrictions and the uncertainties brought about by the war between Ukraine and Russia. Russia is a key antimony concentrate supplier and the country exported 38,364t of antimony concentrate during 2020-21, with 68.2pc shipped to China.