Antimony prices stormed higher on Wednesday as traders rushed to book material before the Chinese new year holiday in an increasingly tight market.

Trioxide-grade antimony rose to trade at $6,300-6,500 per tonne, more than 4% higher than prices of $6,050-6,300 quoted at the end of last week.

Standard-grade II metal rose to trade at $6,250-6,450 from $6,000-6,250 per tonne previously.

"I can't buy below $6,300, so it's no wonder that I have got a lot of enquiry from Europe," said one source in Asia, who reported business between $6,300 and $6,400 per tonne.

Most business reported to MB was between $6,350 and $6,400 per tonne.