In September 2025, China's titanium market demonstrated a "weak-stable" operational trend with persistent structural divergence across sectors. Titanium concentrate prices remained subdued despite minor adjustments, reflecting continued weak terminal demand. The titanium dioxide market was primarily driven by overseas orders, with the European supply chain shift and India's temporary removal of anti-dumping duties providing support, though domestic demand recovery remained limited. The sponge titanium market maintained its divergence pattern, where robust aerospace sector demand contrasted with continued weakness in civilian applications. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the titanium industry chain is expected to maintain this weak equilibrium, with overseas demand sustainability becoming the crucial factor determining price trajectories across all segments, while domestic market conditions are likely to continue constraining significant upward momentum.

[SMM Titanium Weekly Review: Titanium Market Sees Intensified Structural Divergence, with Upper Segment Stable, Middle Segment Strong, and Lower Segment Weak] This week, the titanium industry chain exhibited a structural divergence pattern characterized as "upper segment stable, middle segment strong, and lower segment weak." The upstream titanium concentrate market maintained stable operations, supported by robust demand during the September peak season, with firm quotations. In contrast, the titanium slag market remained weak due to the dual pressures of high costs and sluggish downstream demand. The midstream titanium dioxide market performed the strongest, benefiting from robust export orders, as producers maintained near-full production and low inventory levels, with prices rising firmly. The downstream segment was generally under pressure. The sponge titanium market maintained a "weak balance" due to sluggish demand for common titanium materials. Within the titanium materials market, significant divergence was observed: demand in the high-end sector was robust, while the low-end market faced downward price pressure due to oversupply. Overall, the structural characteristics of market demand have become the key factor driving the trends of various products.

[SMM Titanium Weekly: Titanium Dioxide Leads the Gains, Sponge Titanium Under Pressure, Overall Demand Awaits Realization in September Peak Season] This week, the titanium industry chain showed a divergent trend. Upstream titanium concentrate, driven by downstream titanium dioxide, edged up slightly with offers rising by 5 yuan/mt, and market sentiment was generally stable with a slight rise. Titanium dioxide rose sharply boosted by multiple factors, with sulphuric acid process products posting significant gains. Low enterprise inventory and sudden supply tightening both domestically and overseas jointly pushed up price expectations, and some enterprises have issued second price adjustment notices. However, midstream and downstream products performed weakly: titanium slag remained weak due to high costs and sluggish demand, with tender prices down MoM; sponge titanium offers fell by 1,000 yuan/mt as the weak supply-demand pattern persisted, production cuts have yet to take effect, and September peak season demand fell short of expectations; the titanium materials market was generally stable but transactions were sluggish, with downstream mostly purchasing as needed, and although prices were supported by costs, they struggled to break upward. Overall, the market remains in a structure of "strong raw materials, weak processing," and the extent to which actual September peak season demand materializes will be key to the subsequent trend.

[SMM Titanium Spot Market Update: Tight Supply and Cost Support Underpin Titanium Dioxide Price Hikes, Awaiting Demand Verification] SMM, September 16 – The titanium dioxide market showed signs of recovery. Mainstream quotations for rutile titanium dioxide were 12,800–13,200 yuan/mt, with FOB export prices at $1,860/mt; anatase titanium dioxide was quoted at 11,500–11,800 yuan/mt; and chloride process titanium dioxide was quoted at 14,500–15,500 yuan/mt, with FOB export prices at $2,100/mt.

[SMM Titanium Weekly: Northern Titanium Slag Tender Prices Continue to Decline, Titanium Market Remains Stable Overall] This week, domestic titanium industry chain prices were generally stable, with some regional divergence. The titanium concentrate market operated steadily; although imported ore prices showed some divergence, they were basically flat overall compared to domestic ore prices. The titanium dioxide market rose slightly, with improved acceptance of previous price adjustments and a gradual upward trend in transaction prices. Among these, the sulfuric acid method remained firm with strong bullish sentiment, supported by production line shutdowns at leading enterprises and high sulfuric acid prices; the chloride method only achieved stabilization after stopping declines, due to high inventory and sluggish exports. The titanium slag market continued to be weak in some areas, with enterprise quotations declining in certain regions, increasing pressure on manufacturers' losses, and insufficient follow-through in transactions; prices for some specifications of titanium slag remained stable. Sponge titanium prices were generally stable industry-wide, with production cuts to address capacity pressure, but raw material cost support was relatively weak. The titanium materials market continued in the doldrums, with sluggish trading activity on the spot side, low market activity, and procurement primarily focused on short-term rigid replenishment.

[SMM Titanium Spot Market Update: Supply Disruptions Boost Titanium Dioxide Strength, Sponge Titanium Maintains Weak Balance] This week, the titanium market showed a divergent pattern of "strong titanium dioxide, stable sponge titanium." For titanium dioxide, supported by unexpected production halts at major enterprises and high sulfuric acid costs, sulfuric acid-based titanium dioxide prices rose steadily, with market sentiment turning bullish, and subsequent demand is expected to recover. Sponge titanium, however, remained stable overall due to weak supply and demand and insufficient cost support, continuing its rangebound fluctuating trend. As of this week, the average price of anatase titanium dioxide was 11,650 yuan/mt, and rutile titanium dioxide averaged 13,000 yuan/mt; grade 0 sponge titanium averaged 50,500 yuan/mt, while grade 1 averaged 49,000 yuan/mt.

[SMM Titanium Spot Market Update: Sulphuric Acid Cost Drives Titanium Dioxide Prices to Continue Rising] Today, domestic titanium dioxide prices rose across the board, with rutile-type quotations at 12,600-13,200 yuan/mt and chloride-process quotations at 14,500-15,500 yuan/mt. The FOB export averages were $1,850/mt and $2,090/mt, respectively. High sulphuric acid prices on the cost side continued to support sulphate-process titanium dioxide producers' refusal to budge on prices, while coatings exhibitions boosted expectations of a September demand recovery. Coupled with sustained inventory drawdowns, market bullish sentiment strengthened. Recently, LB Group's Xiangyang Titanium Industry suspended 150,000 mt of capacity due to a safety incident, further tightening short-term supply and pushing prices higher. Titanium dioxide prices are expected to have further upside potential in September.

[SMM Titanium Spot Market Update: Demand Under Pressure Awaiting New Round of Titanium Slag Tender Prices] SMM reported on September 8 that the mainstream quotations for standard 90 titanium slag remained flat from the previous working day at 6,300-6,500 yuan/mt.

[SMM Titanium Weekly: Domestic Demand Stabilizes While Export Pressure Awaits Breakthrough] This week, the titanium industry chain exhibited a "domestic stability with external weakness, divergent operation" pattern. Titanium concentrate prices held steady, benefiting from stockpiling demand during the September peak season, with the market generally stable with slight rise. Domestic titanium dioxide prices rose by 200-250 yuan/mt, but exports remained under pressure, especially for chloride-process products where inventory pressure was prominent. Future trends will depend on order intake and destocking progress. High-titanium slag tenders are about to commence, with prices weakly stabilized by cost support. Sponge titanium faced severe inventory buildup in the civilian sector, and the effectiveness of production cuts remains to be verified, with actual demand still reliant on titanium product recovery. The titanium product market continued sluggish, dominated by just-in-time procurement, with no signs of demand recovery yet. Overall, domestic policies and peak season expectations provided some psychological support to the market, but tangible transaction recovery still requires substantive downstream demand release.

[SMM Titanium Spot Market Update: Minor Price Increase in Titanium Dioxide Market, Future Trend Awaits Demand Test] SMM, September 4 - The mainstream quotation range for rutile titanium dioxide stood at 12,600-13,200 yuan/mt, with the average FOB export price at $1,850/mt. Anatase titanium dioxide was quoted at 11,500-11,800 yuan/mt, while chloride-process titanium dioxide was priced at 14,500-15,500 yuan/mt, with an average FOB export price of $2,090/mt. In early September, the domestic titanium dioxide market witnessed a minor price increase, with product prices across all lines rising by approximately 200-250 yuan/mt. However, the export dollar quotations did not follow suit, remaining generally stable, closely linked to intense international market competition and the ongoing pressure from anti-dumping policies in various countries.