Hydrofluoric acid prices hit a new high for the year

Recently, the hydrofluoric acid market has been rising all the way after starting from the low point of the year, and the price has continuously exceeded the 10,000 yuan (ton price, the same below), 11,000 yuan, and 12,000 yuan mark, but still maintained an upward trend and hit a new high
in the year.
According to data from business agencies, the average price of hydrofluoric acid market on December 16 was 12757.
14 yuan, an increase of 27.
75%
in two months.

For the supporting factors of this round of rally, industry insiders are more consistent, that is, the upstream fluorite market price has risen, raising the cost center
of hydrofluoric acid.
In the future, the cost support is still firm, and under the tight supply and demand fundamentals, it is expected that the price of hydrofluoric acid will still have room
to rise.

Refresh the year's high

"After the National Day, the hydrofluoric acid market gradually came out of the decline that lasted for most of the year, and began to bottom out and rebound, and the current average market price is at the highest level of the year, the second highest in three years
.
" Lv Shenglong, a distributor of hydrofluoric acid in Liaoning, said that after the hydrofluoric acid market began to rebound in October, the monthly increase reached 4.
72%, successfully returning to the 10,000 yuan line
.
After that, step by step until it climbed to the current 12,700 yuan
.

In fact, the hydrofluoric acid market has been volatile and downward in the first three quarters of this year, from a high of 12,600 yuan at the beginning of the year to about
9,985 yuan in early October.
"Although there was a large-scale rebound in the hydrofluoric acid market in mid-May, the average price once soared to 11,000 yuan, but it ended up around 11,700 yuan and then turned back
.
" Lu Shenglong said
.

From the market quotation last week, the mainstream price of hydrofluoric acid negotiations in the southern region is 12,400 ~ 12,700 yuan, and the price of hydrofluoric acid in the northern market is 12,500 ~ 12,800 yuan
.
In terms of exports, affected by content and packaging and other issues, the export price is higher than the domestic market price, and the export price is about
14,000 yuan.

However, from the latest market quotations, some mainstream companies have explored the 14,000 yuan line
.
According to the data of the business agency on December 19, the anhydrous hydrofluoric acid quotation of Yongjing Technology and Fubaotengda is 14,000 yuan, the quotation of Jintian fluorine chemical industry has reached 14,600 yuan, and the quotation of Ao Han Yinyi and other enterprises is 12,500~13,500 yuan
.

Cost pull is the main reason

"The price of fluorite continues to rise, hydrofluoric acid is driven by the cost, and the market has risen
sharply.
" The industry believes that the favorable cost of raw materials is the main driving factor
for this round of hydrofluoric acid rally.
On December 12, the average price of fluorite in China was 3387.
5 yuan, an increase of 18.
58% over the beginning of the year, repeatedly hitting a new high
in the year.

On the supply side, mining enterprises are underworking under increasingly stringent safety and environmental protection requirements, the shortage of domestic raw materials, and the restrictions on the start of fluorite flotation, resulting in a very tight
supply of fluorite.
And recently, with the drop in temperature, the operating rate of fluorite companies has declined, further exacerbating tensions
.
According to Wang Mengyue, an analyst in the fluorite industry of Longzhong Information, some manufacturers in the north have stopped work for maintenance due to seasonal reasons such as temperature; Some manufacturers in the south have inventory waiting psychology under the condition of blocked transportation, so the overall supply of fluorite market is tight
.

At the same time, the large increase in exports has caused the situation
that "one stone is difficult to find".
According to Chen Ling, an analyst at the business agency, in the second half of the year, with the suspension of production in Canada and Mexico, overseas fluorine chemical giants are generally out of stock, and domestic acid-grade fluorite has received more and more inquiries from international buyers, and domestic exports have increased
significantly.
In the first three quarters of 2022, China's calcium fluoride content ≤97%, and the total export volume of fluorite increased by 60.
12% over the same period last year; The content of calcium fluoride > 97%, and the total export volume of fluorite increased by 397.
32%
over the same period last year.

"In the future market, northern fluorite enterprises have entered a shutdown period, coupled with the recent tight supply of raw material fluorite mines, downstream enterprises stocking sentiment is high, and the situation of slightly tight supply and demand in the short term will continue, and it is expected that fluorite prices still have room to rise, which is expected to bring strong cost support
to the hydrofluoric acid market.
" Chen Ling analyzed
.

Tight supply and demand help

Not only the cost side is rising, but with the low operating rate of hydrofluoric acid enterprises, tight supply and demand is also the main factor
driving the upward trend of the market.

Guohai Securities pointed out in the research report that the operating rate of domestic hydrofluoric acid enterprises remained low in December, and some devices were affected by the shortage of raw material fluorite, and some even stopped production
.
Although there are more new production capacity this year, the actual supply volume has always been difficult to increase
.
Moreover, it is reported that some installations have been repeatedly stopped in some northern areas due to health incidents, and the spot supply of hydrofluoric acid has decreased
.
Some manufacturers in the south carried out maintenance, the overall load of hydrofluoric acid equipment declined, and the supply was tight
.

In terms of demand, the current downstream refrigerant industry is acceptable
.
At present, the market trend of refrigerant R22 is temporarily stable, and the demand for application fields is guaranteed, and the market quotation is 18,000~20,000 yuan
.
In terms of R134a, although the domestic price is slightly lower, the overall is still rising, and the current quotation is 25,000~26,000 yuan
.
Previously, downstream refrigerant companies were trading at a loss in order to compete for production quotas, and with the landing of third-generation refrigerant quotas, the history of competition for refrigerant enterprise quotas is about to end, which also provides a basis
for the subsequent price increase of the industrial chain.
What is more promising is that the pace of expansion of new production capacity of new fluorine-containing materials and fluoropolymers has accelerated, and the demand for hydrofluoric acid has increased significantly, and two-way demand has spawned an increasingly tight supply in the market
.

Overall, the supply of upstream fluorite is tight and the price continues to rise, coupled with the tight spot supply of parking and maintenance of some hydrofluoric acid devices, and the demand for downstream refrigerant industry is supported, especially the demand for hydrofluoric acid in emerging fields such as new energy and photovoltaics will continue to increase, so the later hydrofluoric acid market prosperity is still optimistic
.