Decline in trichloromethane market

This week (3.13~3.20), chloroform market weakened and fell. According to data from the Business News Agency, as of March 20, the price of chloroform bulk water in Shandong was 3275 yuan/ton, a slight decrease of 3.68% compared to last Monday’s 3400 yuan/ton. The downstream trichloromethane refrigerant market has gradually entered the traditional peak season, with prices rising and there is a demand for replenishment of trichloromethane. However, the methane chloride unit has started at a high level, the supply of trichloromethane is loose, the factory price of trichloromethane has been lowered, and the mainstream offers in the trichloromethane market have declined slightly.

This week (3.13~3.20), the start of the methane chloride device fluctuated slightly, and the 200000 ton/year methane chloride device in Jiangsu Meilan was shut down for maintenance. However, the start of trichloromethane is still at a high level, with a loose supply side.

This week (3.13~3.20), the price of raw material methanol decreased slightly, and the cost support for chloroform was weak. According to the business news agency, as of March 20th, the spot price of methanol was 2633 yuan/ton, down 0.54% from 2647 yuan/ton last Monday. The low consolidation of international crude oil prices, coupled with fluctuations in the domestic raw material coal range, will not lead to a significant upward trend in methanol prices in the near future, and the cost of chloroform is expected to be stable and weak.

On the one hand, the total production quota of R22 will be reduced by 19% to 181800 tons in 2023. On the other hand, since the arrival of the traditional peak season in March, the price of R22 has continued to rise, and there is a replenishment demand for chloroform. However, due to the impact of quota reduction, the overall demand continues to decrease compared to previous years.

According to methane chloride data analysts from Business News, although the demand for chloroform is currently supported, the supply side is loose, coupled with a decline in raw material prices, and it is expected that the market for chloroform will consolidate in a narrow range in the short term.