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By Lewis Jackson
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has not shipped any antimony to European Union countries since October, customs data showed on Thursday, after the dominant supplier imposed export controls that have fuelled a surge in global prices for the strategic metal.
Accounting for almost half of global supply in 2023, China's restrictions since last year have upended supply chains for antimony, which used in semiconductors, flame retardants, solar power equipment and munitions.
Critically low stock levels in Europe have further fuelled the surge in prices, with regulus grade II material up over 300% compared to a year ago, said Cristina Belda, senior analyst at information agency Argus.
In August, Beijing announced plans to impose export limits on antimony and related elements, citing national security. With initial restrictions taking effect in September, the rules triggered a stockpiling rush that caused shipments to surge in August and September.
In December, China imposed an outright ban on exports to the U.S. of three critical minerals including antimony, with no antimony exports to the U.S. since then.
China's Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Netherlands was the top EU importer of antimony from China in 2023, bringing in 3,011.98 metric tons that year before shipments dropped to 1,016.65 tons in 2024 with no shipments since October, the Chinese customs data showed.
The already five-month pause in Chinese antimony exports to Europe differs from previous rounds of Beijing's critical mineral restrictions, when exports tended to slowly resume within a few months as exporters were granted newly required licenses.
China's total antimony exports in 2024 slid 24.1% to 38,632 tons, according to customs data.
Antimony exports to other countries including Brazil, Thailand and Russia, have continued since the September restrictions.
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson, Ella Cao and Amy Lv; Editing by Tony Munroe and Lincoln Feast.)
