Antimony Price Today: Spot Rates, Controls & Outlook

• Antimony price rebounds sharply to $12,874.76 per tonne on China’s domestic benchmark
• Domestic price reverses three consecutive months of decline, up 18%
• Europe-China price gap narrows sharply after last cycle’s widening
• Antimony trioxide rebounds even more sharply, up nearly 28%
• China’s export licensing regime remains fully in force despite the rebound
• Weight and currency conversion tables included for procurement teams

Last Updated: 4 September 2026

The antimony price for China 99.65% Sb min antimony metal stands at $12,874.76 per tonne as of 4 September 2026, according to Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) benchmark data (SMM-SB-AI-002) — up sharply, approximately 18.0%, from $10,914.08/tonne in August. This reverses three consecutive months of decline and is a large enough move to warrant confirmation against a second source before treating it as a settled turnaround. The European antimony price for equivalent material is $19,800 per tonne, down modestly from $21,250/tonne. Because the China-domestic rebound moved sharply in the opposite direction to Europe’s continued softening, the proportional premium Europe commands over China has narrowed dramatically this cycle — to roughly 54%, down from 95% in August — reversing last cycle’s widening and moving toward the “narrowing spread” pattern that independent market reporting had anticipated but that hadn’t yet shown up in the data. For the broader monthly price context see our Critical Minerals Market June 2026 analysis.

Current Antimony Price — China, Europe and USA

The table below covers all major antimony benchmarks as reported by SMM. The divergence between Chinese domestic prices and Western assessments reflects the ongoing friction created by China’s export licensing controls, which require individual permits for each outbound shipment.

Antimony Metal — Standard Grade

High Purity Antimony (China domestic)

Last updated: 4 September 2026. All figures sourced from SMM. This month’s China-domestic rebound and even sharper trioxide rebound are large enough moves that they should be checked against independent market reporting before being treated as confirmed rather than a data-timing artefact. Antimony trioxide China 99.5% domestic now stands at $11,363.95/tonne (SMM-SB-AI-012), up sharply from $8,888.12/tonne — a rebound of nearly 28%, discussed below.

Antimony Price in USD, EUR, GBP and Other Currencies

Exchange rates: XE.com, September 2026. Conversions calculated from the China Domestic 99.65% Sb benchmark. CNY figures reflect the USD/CNY mid-market rate and do not represent the SMM domestic Chinese price, which incorporates VAT and may differ materially.

Antimony Price Per Gram, Per Ounce and Per Pound

Antimony Price History

The antimony price trajectory since early 2024 is one of the sharpest commodity market moves driven by a single policy event. The August 2024 export control announcement — and the September 2024 implementation — functioned as a price floor removal for Western buyers. From a pre-controls European baseline of approximately $15,000–$18,000/tonne, prices reached a cycle peak of approximately $59,750/tonne in July 2025 before correcting materially. That correction ran for three consecutive months through August 2026, but this cycle’s data shows a sharp reversal in the China-domestic benchmark specifically, even as the European assessment continued to soften. A rebound of this scale after three straight declines is a significant enough shift to treat as tentative pending confirmation next cycle.

Historical data sourced from Fastmarkets Rotterdam assessment and SMM China domestic benchmark. Production context: USGS National Minerals Information Center.

What Is Driving the Antimony Price

China’s Export Control Architecture

China accounts for approximately 48% of global antimony ore production and approximately 74% of global antimony trioxide refining capacity, according to USGS 2023 data. No other market participant comes close in either ore production or downstream processing scale — which is why the export licensing regime introduced in 2024 had an immediate and lasting effect on Western prices. The controls have evolved in three stages: August 2024 licensing requirements, December 2024’s ban on exports to US military end-users, and a May 2025 smuggling crackdown. This cycle’s sharp domestic rebound occurs with the licensing regime fully unchanged, suggesting the move reflects a domestic supply-demand shift rather than any relaxation of the export control architecture itself. The China critical minerals export controls analysis covers the full licensing framework across all affected metals.

Demand Drivers

Antimony’s applications span several structural growth categories. Flame retardants — primarily antimony trioxide used synergistically with halogenated compounds — account for the largest share of consumption, serving electronics, textiles, and construction materials. Lead-acid batteries use antimony as a hardening agent in lead alloy plates, representing significant volume demand that moves broadly with the automotive aftermarket. Semiconductor applications require high-purity antimony price-sensitive material (5N and above) in compound semiconductors. Global antimony demand is projected to grow from approximately $2.5 billion in 2024 to $3.5 billion by 2030, implying a CAGR of 6.2%, according to Research and Markets. This cycle’s sharp trioxide rebound in particular is worth watching against flame-retardant demand data, since trioxide moved even more sharply than metal. Unlike cobalt or lithium, antimony has no exchange-traded futures contract — the SMM and Fastmarkets assessments are the primary price reference points for the market.

Antimony Price: Western Supply Development

Western supply alternatives to China are limited and slow to develop. The US ceased commercial antimony mining by approximately 2020; the USGS reported no domestic production in 2023. Russia holds approximately 17.5% of global antimony reserves but sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine have closed this route for most Western purchasers. Tajikistan is the most immediately accessible alternative source via the Anzob complex, though capacity is limited and logistics challenging. Belgium emerged as a secondary antimony oxide supplier to the US market during 2025, processing imported ore and recycled lead-acid batteries — a processing capability rather than a mining one, and at insufficient scale to substitute for Chinese volumes.

Exploration-stage projects in Southeast Asia and South America have attracted investor interest following the 2024–2025 price spike, though development timelines for most regions remain five to ten years. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act identifies antimony as a strategic raw material, though current EU production levels fall significantly short of stated targets. The EU Critical Raw Materials Act supplier guide covers compliance requirements in detail. The Minor Metals Trade Association publishes regular market intelligence on antimony and other technology metals.

Antimony in Defence and Strategic Applications

Antimony’s role in defence supply chains is a primary reason Western governments have classified it as a critical mineral. The metal’s main defence applications include munitions — antimony is used in lead-antimony alloys for bullet and projectile manufacture — night-vision equipment using infrared detectors based on antimony compound semiconductors, and military electronics where flame-retardant properties are required in equipment housings and circuit boards. The December 2024 Chinese announcement banning antimony exports to US military users formalised what had been an implicit risk into an explicit supply chain vulnerability, and the Pentagon has since directly supported antimony-related domestic supply chain projects in response.

European defence procurement has faced antimony supply constraints through 2025–2026 as ammunition replenishment programmes compete for limited available supply. High-purity antimony (5N and above) is consumed in compound semiconductor production for defence electronics — at $77.18/kg for 5N material and $358.65/kg for 7N, the high-purity segment represents a distinct demand tier that has moved more modestly than bulk metal this cycle, keeping the Western supply gap structurally significant even amid the metal price rebound. The MBDA missile supply chain analysis covers antimony dependency in European defence procurement in detail.

Antimony Price Outlook

The antimony price outlook for 2026 is more contingent on Chinese export policy than on supply-demand fundamentals — a situation that distinguishes antimony from most industrial metals. This cycle’s data meaningfully changes the picture from recent updates: after three months in which the China-Europe spread had been widening rather than narrowing, this month’s sharp Chinese domestic rebound alongside continued European softening has cut that spread nearly in half, from roughly 95% to roughly 54%. This moves the market closer to the “narrowing spread” outcome independent forecasters (Fastmarkets) had anticipated, though it arrives via a China-side rebound rather than the gradual Western-side catch-down that had been the more commonly discussed mechanism. Whether this represents the start of a genuine convergence or a single volatile month remains to be confirmed next cycle. Any escalation in US-China trade tensions could tighten access further; demand from defence procurement — structurally boosted by European rearmament and US munitions replenishment — may provide a persistent demand floor at elevated prices relative to the pre-2024 baseline. All forecasts carry significant uncertainty beyond a 12-month horizon.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Antimony prices are subject to change without notice.