Titanium Weekly Review: Highlights from May 9 to May 15

Titanium Ore

The titanium ore market is weak and stable this week. As of now, the price of 46 and 10 titanium ore of small and medium-sized manufacturers is 1700-1750 yuan/ton, the price of 47 and 20 ore is 2200-2280 yuan/ton, and the price of 38 titanium medium ore is 1150-1200 yuan/ton excluding tax; the downstream market is still weak, the production is insufficient, and the purchase is cautious; with the consumption of titanium ore inventory in the Panxi market, and the recent purchase of titanium medium ore at a low price by miners in Xinjiu, coupled with the suspension of production of some concentrators in Yunnan and Chengde, the domestic titanium ore supply may gradually tighten. According to market news, Panxi large factories may limit the raw ore, and the market sentiment has improved. The price of titanium ore may stop falling and stabilize.

Some prices in the imported titanium ore market are weakening. The CIF price of Mozambique titanium ore is US$370/ton, the FOB price of Vietnam B ore is US$320/ton, the CIF price of Australia is US$315/ton, and the ex-factory price of Nigeria 48-50 ore including tax is RMB 2250-2350/ton. The cost pressure in the downstream market is relatively large. With the continuous reduction of the price of Panjin, some new orders of imported titanium ore are deadlocked, and enterprises are more cautious in purchasing. Due to the strong demand for titanium ore in the international market, the price of new orders in the domestic market has not yet been determined. Due to the continued strong price pressure in the downstream market, the prices of some concentrators have loosened slightly.

Titanium slag

The high titanium slag market continues to be sluggish, and northern enterprises have no bidding plans this month; demand continues to be weak, the high slag market has poor transactions, the pressure of shipment is relatively large, the market price is low, and the cost of raw materials is high, and the market continues to operate weakly.

The acid slag market is weak. As of now, the ex-factory price in Sichuan is 5820-5870 yuan/ton, and the ex-factory price in Yunnan is 4650 yuan/ton. There is basically no export circulation in the acid slag market, the price of titanium dioxide is weak, the acid slag market is less willing to start production, and the titanium dioxide market is difficult to recover in the short term. The price will continue to be weak and stable.

Titanium tetrachloride

The market price of titanium tetrachloride has fallen by 400-600 yuan/ton. The current market price of titanium tetrachloride is 5300-5500 yuan/ton. Due to weak demand in the downstream market, the pressure on titanium tetrachloride shipment is relatively large, the market is oversupplied, the price is reduced, and the price of raw materials and other materials has fallen. The supply and demand of titanium tetrachloride market is weak, and the market is weak.

Titanium dioxide

The titanium dioxide market maintained a weak trend this week; as of now, the ex-factory price of rutile titanium dioxide in China is 13,300-15,100 yuan/ton, and the ex-factory price of anatase titanium dioxide is 12,200-12,800 yuan/ton; Longbai Group's listed price for sulfuric acid method this month has been reduced by 500-900 yuan/ton, and the price of chlorination method has remained unchanged. Other companies have also adjusted their prices in the early stage, and the price has basically remained stable this week; downstream demand is still weak, more than a dozen companies in the market are in the process of reducing production and stopping production, and the market operation has dropped to about 80%. In the later period, some companies will wait and see and have maintenance plans; On May 10, the Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance of India issued Notice No. 12/2025-Customs (ADD), stating that it accepted the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry's February 12, 2025 regulation on titanium dioxide originating in or imported from China (Titanium The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a final anti-dumping ruling on the case, deciding to impose an anti-dumping duty of US$460-681/ton on China's products involved in the case, which will be valid for 5 years; according to customs data, the cumulative export of titanium dioxide to India from January to March 2025 was 97,600 tons, an increase of 50.46% year-on-year, and the export pressure was relatively large. Raw material prices have stabilized, and corporate costs are still under pressure. At present, the demand for titanium dioxide is still weak, the market price is chaotic, and the transaction remains on a case-by-case basis.

Sulfuric acid

This week, the regional differentiation of the domestic sulfuric acid market has become increasingly obvious. As of now, the price of 98% smelting acid in Zhejiang is 620-720 yuan/ton, the ex-factory price of 98% smelting acid in Sichuan is 600-750 yuan/ton, and the ex-factory price of 98% smelting acid in Yunnan is 520-550 yuan/ton; Sichuan has been affected by the suspension of downstream titanium dioxide enterprises in the region, and the pressure on sulfuric acid shipments is relatively large, and the acid price has been reduced; the acid price in Zhejiang, Yunnan, Guizhou and other regions has rebounded slightly this week, due to the low inventory in the region, the increase in surrounding acid prices, and the favorable policies of the fertilizer export market, the market sentiment has improved; with the recovery of demand in some downstream regions, the market has shown a clear price stratification pattern, and the high-end and low-end price difference is significant; the price of raw sulfur is high, and the production cost pressure of acid enterprises is relatively large. It is expected that the sulfuric acid market will continue to fluctuate at a high level in the later period.

Sponge titanium

Some quotations in the sponge titanium market continue to increase by 2,000 yuan/ton. At present, the market price of grade 1 sponge titanium is 47,000-53,000 yuan/ton, and the price of grade 0 sponge titanium is 48,000-55,000 yuan/ton; the demand for high-end orders of sponge titanium is still good, and the inventory of some factories is tight. The quotation of new orders has been raised again. Some companies are not quoting at present; due to the high price of sponge titanium, the downstream is cautious about purchasing high-priced sources, and the market transaction is deadlocked.

Forecast for the future market:

1. The inventory of miners is consumed, and the price of titanium ore stops falling and stabilizes;

2. The market demand is weak, and the price of titanium dioxide is weak and stable;

3. Some sources of sponge titanium are tight, and the price is strong.