February titanium market review
Affected by the Spring Festival holiday, in February, the transaction volume of titanium ore and rutile decreased significantly. On the eve of the Spring Festival, small and medium-sized miners in the Panzhihua area have been on holiday. Since the local 10 # titanium ore has not been actually traded, although its offer has remained unchanged, it has lost market significance. Large mines have a short holiday during the Spring Festival, and normal production status is basically maintained at other times.
After the Spring Festival, the downstream market has begun to recover, and small miners are also willing to raise the price of titanium ore. As of late February, the offer price of Panzhihua 10 # titanium ore increased by about 20 yuan / ton. The 20 # titanium ore has not changed for the time being, but the manufacturers' willingness to raise prices in March has increased. In February, there was no large-scale procurement in the domestic rutile market, and market prices remained stable. Among them, 95 rutile domestic spot quantity is low, the market transactions are mainly 87-92 rutile.
In February, the domestic chloride slag market declined slightly, and the price of 90 titanium slag dropped by about 40 yuan / ton. Due to the Spring Festival holiday, titanium slag enterprises will turn their attention to equipment maintenance and holiday arrangements. While the overall demand for chloride slag is at a low level and the pricing power is controlled unilaterally by downstream companies, titanium slag companies are responding to downward pressure on prices by further reducing production costs. The acid slag market price remains unchanged. As downstream enterprises suspend production, sour slag enterprises also gradually stop production. By the end of February, some acid slag enterprises had not resumed production.
In February, the titanium tetrachloride and sponge titanium markets remained unchanged. With the gradual recovery of the supply of titanium tetrachloride, the tightness of titanium sponge raw materials has improved, and the output has also picked up. The downstream titanium material demand for sponge titanium is stable at a high level, and the sponge titanium market is in a state of both supply and demand.
After the Spring Festival, the titanium dioxide market has reopened. In the first week of the market opening, domestic titanium dioxide enterprises have successively announced that they will increase their product prices, with the increase of 500 yuan / ton, and the prices of individual enterprises and products will increase between 600 yuan and 800 yuan / ton. According to the author's understanding, after the enterprise announced a price increase, the actual transaction price in the market also increased accordingly. The titanium dioxide company closed the market early in the year, which caused the lower inventory of downstream plants to be the main reason. After the Spring Festival holiday, in order to ensure normal production, downstream companies must purchase and replenish raw material inventory, triggering a wave of rigid demand. In addition, the lack of titanium dioxide output before the Spring Festival, the decline in corporate inventories and other factors have also provided favorable conditions for the upward price of titanium dioxide.
Titanium Dioxide: The first wave of price increases this year has been formed
On the first day of the Spring Festival holiday, Long Mang Bai Lilian issued a price adjustment letter, and the author determined that this move will lay the tone for the titanium dioxide market after the Spring Festival, and the titanium dioxide market will usher in an upward cycle. Sure enough, within a week, more than 10 domestic titanium dioxide enterprises made intensive voices, adjusting prices with leading companies.
After a number of companies announced price increases, it can be said that the first wave of price increases in the titanium dioxide market this year has formed. In fact, before the Chinese New Year, Longman Baililian sealed the orders in advance, and many companies stopped production and holidays in advance. Considering that most of the downstream enterprises and traders were not ready to build inventory before the Spring Festival, and the effect of centralized procurement after the festival was superimposed, this round of titanium dioxide price increases will be able to be confirmed.
After the outbreak period from 2011 to 2012 and the subsequent four-year down period, the domestic titanium dioxide industry pattern has quietly changed. The leading role of leading companies is becoming more and more obvious, and the scale advantage has been continuously expanded and effectively used. Six years ago, the situation of separatist domination and multi-party melee has passed. When the market goes up, price increases are reasonable rather than the pursuit of short-term benefits; after the market moves into the downside, leading companies gradually demonstrate the role of ballast stones: stabilize prices and stabilize expectations. By adjusting the rhythm of production and signing, it slows down the frequency and extent of market downturns and avoids the emergence of vicious competition such as price wars. After the market environment improves, companies will have more energy to invest in long-term planning and gain a broader market and more stable benefits by improving their own strength.
Downstream picks up Titanium ore market rebounds upward probability
After the Spring Festival, domestic titanium dioxide companies have increased their product prices. Due to this favorable factor, the domestic titanium ore market will also enter the upward channel in the future.
There are not many titanium ore companies in Panzhihua area, and the Chinese ore market is gradually selling. Some miners have tentatively increased the price of 10 # titanium ore. Other miners are also waiting and watching. Judging from the transaction management of the Panzhihua Titanium Ore Market, the signing price of large miners was determined at the end of February, and small and medium-sized miners were able to adjust prices more flexibly and quickly. The author believes that although the mainstream market price has not yet formed after the Spring Festival, due to the rebound of the downstream titanium dioxide market, it is likely that the price of Panzhihua titanium ore will increase by more than 20 yuan / ton in the future.
In the imported ore market, some miners still need a period of time to end the holidays, and the price adjustment of imported titanium ore may also be later than the time when domestic titanium ore prices will rise. Before the spring, the prices of foreign mines were firm, and there were not many domestic high-quality titanium ore stocks, and their prices may stop rising. The inventory of low-grade imported titanium ore is high, and whether its price can be improved remains to be seen.