# Antimony: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/correlation/ China and Russia dominate antimony mining and refining, and Chinese export curbs since 2024 have pushed prices to records. Uses include flame retardants, lead-acid batteries, solar glass, PET catalysts and ammunition, so defence demand matters too. No public price Antimony has no public monthly price series: Priced in private assessments; no free public series. #### What its price moves with Commodity [Pb Lead](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/lead/)Alloy partner Antimony hardens lead for battery grids, cable sheathing and bullets, and much antimony is recovered from lead smelting and battery recycling. Lead output therefore affects both antimony supply and demand. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Energy [PbA Lead-acid batteries](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_lead_acid/)Battery use Lead-acid battery grids contain antimony alloys, especially in deep-cycle and industrial batteries. Battery makers have shifted to calcium alloys to save cost, but antimony remains important in many markets, including India. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Chemical [FR Flame retardants](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/flame_retardants/)Main use Antimony trioxide boosts halogenated flame retardants in plastics, cables and textiles, its largest use. High antimony prices push formulators toward antimony-free systems, such as phosphorus or mineral-based retardants, where safety rules allow. No public price for flame retardants, so the link is explained in words only. Chemical [PET PET resin](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/pet/)Catalyst use Most PET bottle and fibre resin is made with antimony catalysts, a steady chemical use. Producers can switch to titanium or germanium catalysts when antimony is scarce, at some extra cost. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Energy [PV Solar photovoltaics](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_pv/)Solar glass Antimony is added to the glass covering solar panels to improve clarity and stability, and the solar boom made this a fast-growing use. Glass makers are testing alternatives as antimony prices rise. No public price for solar photovoltaics, so the link is explained in words only. Commodity [Au Gold](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/gold/)Co-product Antimony is often found with gold in mines in China, Russia and Australia, and some gold mines recover it as a co-product. Higher antimony prices can make such mines more profitable. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/overview/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/stocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/antimony/links/index.md)