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Indium market in stalemate as overseas buyers resist Chinese prices

February 08, 2012 - 16:40 GMT Location: London

KEYWORDS: indium prices , Guangxi , consumer demand , western supply , China

Indium prices were static on Wednesday as muted Western demand conflicted with a bullish mood in China, where prices have climbed sharply in the past week.

Metal Bulletin indium prices are $510-570 per kg, unchanged from a week ago as consumers balked at the higher offers put to the market by Chinese exporters. Domestic prices are 3,600-3,750 yuan ($571-595) per kg, up 8.7% on prices a week ago as the market anticipated an impending squeeze on crude indium supply after a cadmium pollution incident in Guangxi. Several heavy metal processing plants in the region have been shut down after a river was found to be heavily contaminated with cadmium. There are expectations that the cleanup operation and fresh environmental scrutiny throughout the region will lead to tighter supply of several minor metals including indium and antimony, as well as cadmium. But exporters who have raised their offers in response to the rising domestic market have found few...

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