Industry Awaits Next Month's Pricing as Aluminum Fluoride Companies Grapple with Raw Material and Supply-Demand Challenges [SMM Fluoride Weekly Review]

SMM March 27 News:

This week, aluminum fluoride enterprises mainly focused on delivering orders. As the month-end approached, the market awaited new price guidance. Following the joint efforts of aluminum fluoride enterprises to refrain from price cuts, the transaction situation remained mediocre. As of now, SMM aluminum fluoride prices closed at 9,900-10,500 yuan/mt, and SMM cryolite prices were quoted at 6,500-7,500 yuan/mt.

From the perspective of raw material supply, the fluorite market remained largely stable this week. The delivery-to-factory price of 97% fluorite powder, a key raw material for aluminum fluoride production, remained stable within the range of 3,500-3,800 yuan/mt. Given the increasingly stringent environmental and safety standards, fluorite mining has been significantly restricted, making it difficult to effectively alleviate the tight supply situation in the short term. Downstream enterprises exhibited rigid demand characteristics, with no significant signs of growth on the demand side. Currently, fluorite powder prices remain high, and downstream enterprises are extremely cautious in their procurement activities. With the continuous strengthening of environmental protection policies and the stable market demand, fluorite mining will face greater difficulties, leading to continued tight supply. Therefore, SMM expects that fluorite powder prices may still maintain a fluctuating trend at highs. According to the latest data from SMM, the current average delivery-to-factory price of 97% fluorite powder is 3,625 yuan/mt, remaining stable compared to last Thursday. Additionally, aluminum hydroxide prices continued to decline this week. SMM data shows that the ex-factory average price of aluminum hydroxide was 2,028 yuan/mt, down 3.06% compared to last Thursday. Coupled with the tight supply in the sulfuric acid market, which is difficult to alleviate in the short term, and the strong rise in sulfur prices, sulfuric acid prices continue to rise. Overall, the support from the raw material side for aluminum fluoride remains relatively strong.

From the supply side, due to the continuous decline in aluminum fluoride prices and the recent strong rise in raw material prices, aluminum fluoride enterprises are facing severe losses. To ensure operations, the number of enterprises suspending or cutting production has significantly increased, leading to a continuous reduction in aluminum fluoride supply. From the demand side, aluminum enterprises are operating steadily with some increases, although the overall growth is limited, the overall demand still exists.

Brief Review: As the month-end approaches, all parties in the industry are closely watching the price competition among benchmark enterprises next month, resulting in a relatively mediocre overall market transaction atmosphere. Due to the continuous rise in raw material prices, the aluminum fluoride industry is deeply mired in production pressure and losses. To escape this situation, many enterprises have chosen to suspend or cut production, leading to a continuous decline in market supply. From the demand side, although there are initial signs of growth, the overall demand remains stable. Currently, aluminum fluoride enterprises have a strong desire to maintain high prices, hoping to push prices up to 11,000 – 11,500 yuan/mt. However, downstream aluminum enterprises have a strong mentality to suppress prices, and the specific price awaits the final market competition result.