Price trend

Taking sulfate-process rutile titanium dioxide—a product with significant sales volume in the domestic market—as an example: according to data from SunSirs' "Spot Connect" service, prices in the domestic titanium dioxide market rose during the first half of April. On April 1, the average price of titanium dioxide stood at 15,260 RMB/ton; by April 15, the average price had risen to 16,100 RMB/ton—representing a price increase of 5.5%.

Market Analysis

Prices in the domestic titanium dioxide market rose during the first half of April. Sulfuric acid prices remained firm and trended upward due to supply chain constraints, thereby driving up the production costs of titanium dioxide. Facing mounting cost pressures, titanium dioxide manufacturers were compelled to raise their prices to alleviate this financial burden. Today, Longbai Group issued a notice announcing that, effective April 15, domestic titanium dioxide prices will be increased by 1,500 RMB/ton, while international prices will rise by 200 USD per ton.

As of April 15, sentiment among titanium dioxide manufacturers regarding price hikes remained strong, signaling that the market is poised to enter a new wave of price increases. On that day, domestic quotations for sulfate-process rutile-grade titanium dioxide largely ranged between 15,500 and 16,500 RMB/ton, while anatase-grade material hovered around 14,500 to 15,000 RMB/ton. Given the excessive frequency of price hikes in the titanium dioxide market, the validity period of quoted prices has shortened significantly, and actual transaction prices are now being negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

Market outlook

According to analysts at SunSirs, geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have driven up the prices of upstream raw materials for titanium dioxide, thereby pushing up production costs. Consequently, titanium dioxide prices are expected to maintain their upward trajectory in the short term.

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