TiO2 market analysis in the mid of Nov.2021

In the early of this month, KRONOS announced 400USD/MT price increase effect from 1th Jan. 2022.
Our analysist thinks it was more like a late response to earlier market increasing. With the restriction of Memorandum of Cooperation(MOC), the increasing pressure was passed to next year. But more importantly, the global shortage of chloride process tio2 is a strong pillar stone to the price increasing.

But to the Sulphate process products, it is another story. After the increasing wave in late of Oct.2021, the market is far more weaker than expected. After breaking the record time again and again, the market finally calms down a little bit. And people are waiting to the ChinaCoat2021, and expecting a drop after that.

But with a new wave of the covid pandemic in China, the Chinacoat 2021 was cancelled naturally, which hits the watchers in the front head. This cancelling certainly makes it more difficult for the manufactures to act in the same pace and embracing orders with a lower price. Even now, the orders are not that abundant, but to most of the manufactures, the orders at hand are enough for them to pass this year. To the coming 2022, who knows?

To sulphate process tio2, the needs is certainly weak, due to the uncontrolled pandemic in east asia, which affects the demands of total in a short well. Besides that, the Indian market is watching and waitting a turning point cause their demands fulfilled already.
But, the new demands will apprear.
And the manufacturers are betting on the 2022 Winter Olympics, cause by then, the government will take production restrict measures as they did in 2008 summer Olympics. If so, the supply will drop significantly and the demands will recover. That is why now, the willingness to decrease the price is not strong. Even they decrease the price now, they have to adjust it back after 1 month, so why should they do it?

Anyway, we do belive that the price wave started from July this year is going to the end. There are good reasons to belive that the price already hit or will soon hit the peak and turn for a long period of dropping. With all kinds of reasons to back it up, the drops will be easy and slow if no black swans anymore.