High Costs Drove a Second TiO2 Price Increase Within the Month, While Diverging Domestic and External Demand Tested the Sustainability of the Price Rise [SMM Titanium Spot Flash Report]

SMM, March 17: Today, prices in China’s titanium dioxide market continued to rise. Anatase titanium dioxide was quoted at 12,400-12,800 yuan/mt, with an average price of 12,600 yuan/mt, up 300 yuan from the previous working day; rutile titanium dioxide was quoted at 13,500-14,500 yuan/mt, with an average price of 14,000 yuan/mt, up 300 yuan from the previous working day, while FOB quotes stood at $2,000/mt, up $30 from the previous working day.

Driven by persistently high raw material costs and an improving supply-demand pattern, China’s titanium dioxide industry saw another wave of collective price adjustments in mid-March. Starting from March 16, multiple mainstream enterprises successively issued their second price adjustment notices of the month, uniformly raising the selling prices of all product grades, including a 500 yuan/mt increase in base prices for domestic sales and a $100/mt increase in export prices.

The core driver of this round of price hikes still lay in the mounting pressure of losses caused by sulphuric acid prices fluctuating at highs over a prolonged period. Enterprises hoped to consolidate the gains from the first round of price increases at the beginning of the month through this adjustment and further boost market sentiment. At present, mainstream rutile titanium dioxide quotes have concentrated in the 14,000-14,500 yuan/mt range.

However, from the perspective of supply and demand fundamentals, market performance showed divergence. Supply side, titanium dioxide enterprises maintained solid operating rates in March, with most running at full capacity. Demand side, the domestic trade market remained mediocre, and apart from leading enterprises, most small and medium-sized producers faced some resistance in promoting the new prices. The foreign trade market was notably affected by geopolitical factors, with obvious fluctuations in order shipments and ocean freight rates, also showing polarization: enterprises with a relatively high share of export orders were busy rushing shipments, while those with a relatively low share of foreign trade struggled to sign orders.

Looking ahead, whether titanium dioxide price increases can be sustained still depends on substantive improvement on the supply and demand side. It is worth noting that support from sulphuric acid costs remained strong. According to market sources, production suspension for maintenance at a copper enterprise in Yunnan is expected to further tighten sulphuric acid supply and drive prices higher. Against this backdrop, titanium dioxide enterprises remained firm in their willingness to hold prices firm.