Titanium Dioxide Companies Increase Prices Despite Market Trends
This week, the titanium dioxide market prices have been holding steady for the most part. Although there have been some exceptions, like Taihai and Yutu announcing price increases of 500 yuan/mt, not many other producers have joined in. Currently, sulphuric acid process rutile titanium dioxide is priced between 14,000-14,900 yuan/mt, while anatase titanium dioxide falls within the range of 12,500-13,000 yuan/mt.
When it comes to raw materials, Pangang has stopped external shipments of raw ore, leading to a tighter supply from Sinomine Resource Group. This has caused many hydraulic beneficiation plants to stop operations for maintenance, tightening the supply of refined ore in the market. Despite these changes, it is anticipated that titanium ore prices will remain stable moving forward.
Trading activity in the titanium dioxide market has increased compared to previous periods, driven by stockpiling and hoarding activities before the Chinese New Year. This has worsened the supply tightness. Low inventory levels among traders and downstream players have caused shortages for some titanium dioxide producers, resulting in slightly higher domestic prices. However, overall market demand remains weak, so the sustainability of this price increase needs to be confirmed by the market.
Looking ahead, SMM predicts that the titanium dioxide market will likely remain stable overall but may show a slightly weak operating trend. For any questions, feel free to reach out to William Gu at williamgu@smm.cn. If you’re interested in accessing our research reports, please email service.en@smm.cn.
