Domestic price trend of xylene:

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of the Business Society, the price trend has temporarily stabilized this week. As of the weekend, the domestic factory price of paraxylene was 9000 yuan/ton, which is the same as the price of 9000 yuan/ton at the beginning of the week, and has increased by 1.12% year-on-year.

There has been little change in the domestic supply of xylene, with a domestic PX operating rate of over 60%. The external dependence of PX products is about 29%. Recently, the PX external market price has slightly declined. As of the 5th day, the closing price of the Asian paraxylene market was 997-999 yuan/ton FOB South Korea and 1022-1024 dollars/ton CFR China. The decline of external market price is bad for the domestic market. Recently, the operating rate of PX devices in Asia is relatively stable. On the whole, the operating rate of paraxylene devices in Asia is less than 60%, and the price trend of the domestic paraxylene market is temporarily stable.

This week, the price trend of crude oil has declined. As of the 5th, the settlement price of the main contract for WTI crude oil futures in the United States was at $71.34 per barrel, while the settlement price of the main contract for Brent crude oil futures was at $75.30 per barrel. Mainly affected by concerns about economic recession, investors are preparing for further interest rate hikes this week. Meanwhile, the US Treasury Department has issued a warning that the US government’s debt ceiling is within reach, and the Biden administration and Congress are discussing how to avoid debt defaults. The Federal Reserve is in a dilemma of raising interest rates to combat inflation while avoiding debt defaults. Market risk aversion has escalated, causing heavy losses to both the stock and oil markets. On the 5th, under the strong influence of the US non farm employment data, the price of crude oil rose strongly. On the whole, the price trend of crude oil market declined slightly, and the price trend of domestic paraxylene was temporarily stable.

The price trend of the downstream PTA market declined this week. As of the 6th day, the average price of the PTA market was about 5985 yuan/ton, and the price decline this week was 3.16%. In terms of PTA supply, the current social inventory of PTA is maintained at around 2.8 million tons, and the market is showing a slight accumulation of inventory. Downstream polyester just needs to be restocked, and the factory is allowing profits to be shipped at the end of the month. The profit performance of various varieties remains sluggish, and inventory continues to accumulate. Polyester production has recently slightly declined, and the current effect of enterprise production reduction is still not significant. The terminal weaving startup rate has continued to decline to below 55%, and the domestic market has moderately weakened. Foreign trade orders have not improved, which has affected the weak and stable trend of xylene prices.

Chen Ling, a PX analyst at the business agency, believes that the recent price range of crude oil has fluctuated. Recently, some paraxylene devices have been restarted, and PX supply has increased. Later, the PTA market has shown a weak pattern, and the terminal demand side has shown a weak pattern. It is expected that the price of paraxylene market will decline slightly in the later period.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of the Business Society, there were a total of 2 products that rose and 4 products that fell on the list of fluorine chemical prices in April 2023. The main commodities on the rise include fluorite and hydrofluoric acid; The main commodities falling include chloroform, aluminum fluoride, R22, and R134a. The fluctuation range of various fluorine chemical products in April is as follows:

Fluorite, also known as “fluorite”, is a strategic mineral and one of the scarce resources in China. It is a source product of the fluorine chemical industry. In April, the price of fluorite slightly increased, and domestic fluorite enterprises had a low operating rate. Backward mines will continue to be phased out, and in terms of adding new mines, mineral investigation work remains challenging. Mining enterprises are facing increasingly strict safety and environmental requirements, and the operation of fluorite mines is severely insufficient. In addition, in some areas, non-metallic mine accidents have occurred, and the requirements of environmental protection and emergency management departments have become stricter. The difficulty of mining operation has increased, and domestic fluorite raw materials are tightening. The operation of fluorite flotation devices is limited, and the price trend of fluorite has slightly increased:

Hydrofluoric acid: In April, the domestic price of hydrofluoric acid rose slightly. At the end of the month, the domestic market price of hydrofluoric acid was 10271.43 yuan/ton. The price of hydrofluoric acid rose 4.81% in April. At the beginning of April, the price of hydrofluoric acid rose sharply. Later, it was in the stage of digesting the increase, but the market trend of hydrofluoric acid declined at the end of the month. In April, some units were still shut down, but the hydrofluoric acid market was fully supplied. In addition, the downstream refrigerant purchase order was poor at the end of the month, and the price trend of hydrofluoric acid declined. On the whole, the price trend of hydrofluoric acid market rose in April.

Refrigerant: The market for downstream refrigerant products at the terminal has slightly declined, and the operating rate of the refrigerant industry has not changed much. Recently, there has been sufficient refrigerant supply, which has led to a slight decrease in the price of domestic refrigerant R22. The load of refrigerant R22 manufacturers is not high, and inventory is within a reasonable range. There is a strong wait-and-see sentiment. Domestic R134a manufacturers are operating at low loads, and the price trend of R134a is declining. Currently, on-demand procurement is the main trend, while downstream enterprises are not operating high. Traders have a strong wait-and-see attitude, and the actual transaction situation is light. Currently, the market quotation for refrigerant R134a is mostly in the range of 25000-25500 yuan/ton, and some enterprises have not resumed production. Demand orders are still small, and the market is stagnant and declining. Overall, the refrigerant market is not good.

Aluminium fluoride: In April, the price of aluminium fluoride declined. At the end of the month, the price was 9525 yuan/ton, and the price fell 2.81% in April. The sharp contradiction between supply and demand of aluminium fluoride, serious overcapacity, and poor downstream demand led to the decline of aluminium fluoride market price. Recently, about 50% of aluminum fluoride enterprises have started construction, with downstream procurement mainly focused on rigid demand and a two-way low sentiment. The demand for aluminum fluoride remains weak, and the trend of aluminum fluoride has declined.

Cryolite: In April, the domestic market trend of cryolite remained temporarily stable, with raw materials facing environmental and safety requirements, resulting in tight spot prices. Although prices have slightly decreased in the early stage, cost support is still present. Cryolite enterprises are mainly wait-and-see, and some manufacturers adjust based on their own shipment situation. Terminal downstream destocking is weak, demand for cryolite is weak, and the cryolite market is weak and stable.

Trichloromethane: In April, the market for trichloromethane plummeted significantly. At the end of the month, the price of trichloromethane bulk water in Shandong was 2362 yuan/ton, a significant decrease of 11.68% from 2675 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month. The price of raw material methanol fluctuates weakly, and the cost support for trichloromethane is weak; The price of downstream refrigerant R22 slightly decreased at the end of the month, and there is a strong demand for support for trichloromethane but no new support; Methane chloride production fluctuates slightly, while the supply of trichloromethane is generally loose; At the beginning of the month, due to the decrease in methanol prices and the restart of the Meilan plant, the market for trichloromethane fell. In April, the factory price of enterprises was significantly reduced, and later transactions were light, leading to a decline in the market for trichloromethane.

Prediction: The supply of fluorite ore is unlikely to improve in May, and the operating rate of the fluorite industry is slowly increasing. The confidence of fluorite enterprises in raising prices remains strong, and fluorite prices remain high. However, the downstream market price of hydrofluoric acid products fell slightly, the high price was insufficient, the trend of the hydrofluoric acid market declined, the refrigerant industry started in a downturn, raw material procurement was not active, and the refrigerant market declined slightly. Fluorochemical industry was affected by downstream demand. It is expected that the fluorochemical industry market in May will be difficult to be optimistic.