SHANGHAI, Dec 8 (SMM) - It is reported that Chinalco raised its December aluminium fluoride bid prices further to 10,300 yuan/mt. The SMM prices of aluminium fluoride and cryolite were 10,300-11,000 yuan/mt and 7,000-7600 yuan/mt respectively.
On the raw material side, fluorite prices continued to increase as its mining in north China was affected by the arrival of winter. According to the feedback from northern enterprises, fluorite prices in the north once stood at about 3,700 yuan/mt. In comparison, fluorite prices in the south were lower, but still reached 3,200 yuan/mt. The prices of sulphuric acid and aluminium hydroxide were basically unchanged, with quotes around 400 yuan/mt.
On the supply side, the market in December has returned to normal. The transportation and production of enterprises also resumed with the loosening of pandemic control policies across the country. In this case, downstream traders were active in procurement.
Generally, the growth in aluminium fluoride prices has greatly stimulated the production enthusiasm of enterprises. However, some enterprises said that the high aluminium fluoride prices resulted from high costs, so their profits were actually small. Therefore, a small number of enterprises still produced other products with higher added value. As for the market outlook, with domestic pandemic gradually under control and the transportation starting to resume to normal, the aluminium fluoride prices are estimated to move up. SMM will pay attention to the cost changes brought about by the fluorite prices.
