Chemical industry off-season weak rebound in hydrofluoric acid

Near the end of 2012, in accordance with traditional practice, enterprises actively reduce their sales to inventory and recycle cash. This situation brought a lot of pressure on chemical products, leading to a more pronounced off-season in the chemical market. In the off-season, there was a weak rebound in hydrofluoric acid.

The data shows that the 50 key products monitored last week, most of which fell, showed signs of weakness. However, it should be noted that some sub-industry leaders are taking advantage of capital and technological advantages to begin to seize market share in a sluggish market. Last week, disperse dye leader Zhejiang Longsheng (600352, stock it), sued the industry's second largest share of soil (002440, share it) patent infringement, if successful, Zhejiang Longsheng's market share from the current 40% to more than 60%, The potential impact is huge.

Last week, the top gainers were **, the East China region rose as high as 67%, reported 250 yuan per ton, chlor-alkali enterprises lower operating rates, the previous limited meeting of downstream companies resumed due to important meetings, to stimulate the price increase. In addition, due to the suspension of some enterprises and the rise in prices of raw materials, the east China market rose 3.45% to 3,000 yuan per ton. The hydrofluoric acid in the upstream of the fluorochemical industry rose slightly, mainly due to the rise in raw material fluorite prices and low inventory.

The butadiene with the largest drop was 6% on average. The abundant supply in the market and low demand in the downstream dragged down the price of butadiene. The price of BDO fell 2% to RMB 14,050 per ton, of which, the three-dimensional price of BDO in Shanxi declined by 3.3% to RMB 14,500 per ton, which was a decrease of 14% in the most recent month. This was mainly due to the release of new production capacity. .

Anhydrous hydrofluoric acid rose slightly last week, the manufacturers quoted stability, and the focus of the transaction moved up. The main logic of this increase is: First, rising raw material costs, the North market has been difficult to find raw materials fluorite powder, promote powder prices in South China, and powder volume reduction, continue to pressure the cost of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid.

Second, the overall inventory of the industry is low. Some enterprises in the East China region have no inventory at the moment and their supply is tight. The number of enterprises started to increase, and the average operating rate is above 60%.

Third, the price of the downstream refrigerant R22 market rose slightly, and shipments were relatively positive, favoring the anhydrous hydrofluoric acid market.

In general, the profitability of hydrofluoric acid companies has increased over the previous period. Coupled with tight supply and demand, the operating rate of enterprise installations has rebounded. For the market, due to the traditional demand peak season, the company's inventory is low and the supply is in short supply. It is expected that the price will still have room for growth. The price of BDO in East China fell by 2% to RMB 14,050 per ton. The trend of the BDO market continued to be sluggish, mainly due to the concentration of new production capacity in recent years. The production capacity in the second half of the year was 520,000 tons, and the total production capacity was nearly 800,000 tons, while the apparent consumption was only about 400,000 tons. As a result, demand growth was lower than supply, causing prices to continue to decline.

At present, some of the supply of small units to discuss closer to 14000-14200 yuan / ton close, the lack of demand on the floor, holding the intention of shipping companies active.

In addition, the amount of orders in the terminal market is also relatively small. The PBT and *** markets are generally weak, and some sources have dropped to 13700-13800 yuan/ton. According to the latest information currently understood, the atmosphere of the new singles negotiations in December is not good.

For the market, the price of BDO raw material calcium carbide and methanol continued to drop. The cost of production of the acetylene aldehyde BDO plant has declined, and the main manufacturers are difficult to support. In the situation where downstream demand is unlikely to improve, and as it nears the end of the year, most companies take the initiative to cut prices to maintain low inventory. It is expected that the short-term domestic BDO market will continue to maintain its adjustment trend.