SunSirs: The Formic Acid Market Was Running Firmly (May 13-20)

Price trend

According to data from SunSirs’ bulk list, as of May 20, the average price of formic acid companies' quotations was 2,733.33 RMB/ton, an increase of 9.33% compared with last Thursday (May 13), an increase of 10.81% compared with April 20, and an increase of 35.54% compared with the same period last year.

Analysis review

Since May, the formic acid market has risen steadily, and market prices rose again this week. On the supply side, Shandong Aste Technology Co., Ltd. recently started operation of 200,000 tons of equipment, and Nanjing BASF's operating load remained at around 90%. The rise in costs and the export demand were the main driving factors for the strong market this week.

Upstream caustic soda, on May 19th, the market of caustic soda in Shandong continued to be light and steady, and the mainstream ex-factory price of 32% caustic soda was 400-490 RMB/ton. The company’s shipments were tepid, the downstream receiving situation was light and stable, and the wait-and-see atmosphere was strong. It is expected that the follow-up of caustic soda will continue to operate with small fluctuations. Upstream liquid ammonia, the liquid ammonia market in Shandong continued to rise on May 20; upstream sulfuric acid, the sulfuric acid market in Shandong temporarily stabilized on May 20; Upstream methanol, on May 19, the methanol reference price was 2,725.00 RMB/ton, compared with May 1 (2,560.00 RMB/ton), an increase of 6.45%.

Market outlook

Formic acid analysts of SunSirs believe that, on the whole, there is a certain degree of support on the cost side and the performance on the demand side is acceptable. It is expected that the formic acid market may operate at a high level in the short term, and more attention should be paid to changes in raw material prices.

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