SHANGHAI, Feb 24 (SMM) – Domestic nonferrous metals and mainstream chemical products rose sharply after the CNY, while the aluminium fluoride market has been running sideways for a long time and the market prices remained stable. Some aluminium fluoride enterprises stopped production and reduced their load before the holiday. The market was tepid after the holiday. Aluminium fluoride enterprises were less willing to resume work. The industry mainly maintained low-load operation. So far, the average operating rate of the industry stood at about 45%. The market price of anhydrous aluminium fluoride stood at 8,500-9,300 yuan/mt.
After the holiday, mainstream aluminium fluoride production companies maintained low-load operations, most companies maintained single-line production, Guangxi Pingguo Hetai and other companies stopped production for maintenance, and the industry mainly consumed inventories.
The cost of anhydrous aluminium fluoride did not change much. During the CNY, operating rates of the fluorite factory decreased, the supply side and the demand side both fell with limited market transactions. The prices of fluorite powder remained stable, and the prices of 97 wet fluorite powder remained stable at 2,600 -2,700 yuan/ton. There is no big positive support in terms of cost.
Domestic electrolytic aluminium plants produced normally during the CNY, but most of the aluminium plants stockpiled before the holiday, and the demand for aluminium fluoride was sluggish after the holiday. The new round of bidding prices is about to land, the inquiries of aluminium plants increased with few actual transactions. Aluminium prices rose sharply after the holiday. As of now, the average prices of SMM East China aluminium stood at 16,780 yuan/mt, up 1,100 yuan/mt from February 10. The profitability of aluminium plants is high, which is good for aluminium fluoride consumption.
The anhydrous aluminium fluoride market is expected to remain stable in the near term as the supply of the anhydrous aluminium fluoride market is maintained at a low load, the inventory in the market is gradually depleted and the downstream is operating at a high load. In the long term, the aluminium fluoride market is dragged down by oversupply, and the price is hard to keep the upward trend for long. Even though the cost side has been firm, the industry’s pricing power is still weak and pressure small aluminium plants restocked at depressed prices. The market will trade in a stalemate in March. The industry can actively explore overseas markets or switch to other fluorine chemical products to improve the current supply and demand pattern.
