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Introduction: In the third quarter of 2023, the prices of fluorite powder and anhydrous hydrofluoric acid have stopped falling and risen. Tight supply and rising costs are the main factors supporting prices. In the fourth quarter, when fluorine chemical companies have good expectations for winter storage of raw materials and terminal refrigerant prices, the market still has room for strong operation.

The market for fluorochemical raw materials rebounded after falling in the third quarter of 2023. At the beginning of the third quarter, the terminal refrigerant market demand was weak, and prices fluctuated and declined. This was transmitted from the bottom up to the raw material market, and prices continued to decline. Since mid-to-late August, under the influence of the continued tight supply of fluorite powder, downstream fluorine chemical companies have been stocking up on raw materials in advance. As the demand for fluorite powder continues to increase, prices have taken the lead in rising, and the driving force of raw materials on the market has increased. Promote the improvement of the industrial chain market from top to bottom.

The upward trend in the third quarter has ended, and the market is also expected to be better in the fourth quarter.

At the end of September, the fluorine chemical raw material market continued to trend upward, and the market environment was still supportive of prices. On the one hand, from a supply perspective, fluorine chemical companies have winter storage of raw material fluorite powder at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. The monthly procurement volume will increase to more than 10,000 tons to prepare for winter production. Driven by demand, the price of fluorite powder will increase. There has been a significant increase. Judging from the supply and demand situation in the fluorspar market during the year, mine operations are low. Affected by the shortage of ore, the operation of dressing plants is less than 40%, and the inventory is small. It is common to determine sales based on production. It is expected that the tight supply of fluorspar powder will not be alleviated in the fourth quarter, and prices are still likely to continue to rise in the future, perhaps until around November. From the perspective of anhydrous hydrofluoric acid, due to the tight supply of raw material fluorite powder, the start-up of some production companies was restricted at the end of the third quarter, and the market start-up remained at around 55%. The market supply was tight, and production companies were obviously hesitant to stock. Coupled with the increase in the price of fluorite powder, the market support for anhydrous hydrofluoric acid is relatively strong, and it is expected to have a synchronized upward trend with the market price of raw material fluorite powder.

On the other hand, as of mid-September, the price of downstream refrigerants has been rising steadily, and the refrigerant HFC-134a has continued to hit new highs in the new year. At the same time, as the implementation date of HFCs quotas in 2024 approaches, the overall situation of limited supply in the future market will be determined. Industry players are full of expectations for a better market, and the low-price reluctance to sell at the production end is obvious. The bullish expectations in the HFCs market will provide positive support to the market ahead of the implementation of quotas. With the psychological expectation that the terminal market will improve, it will also provide good support for the raw material market, and the market outlook is still optimistic about the fourth quarter market.