In October, the market for chloroform rose first and then fell. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, as of October 31, the price of trichloromethane bulk water in Shandong Province was 2887 yuan/ton, a decrease of 2.12% from 2950 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month.

In the first half of the month, the price of raw material methanol fluctuated at a high level, while the price of liquid chlorine remained high, with strong support for the cost of chloroform; In addition, the news of equipment maintenance at a certain factory in Shandong Province in the middle of the month has stimulated a significant increase in the factory price of enterprises, and the price of chloroform has significantly increased in the first half of the month. In the second half of the month, on the one hand, the high prices of raw materials have fallen, and the cost support for trichloromethane has weakened. In addition, terminal and market merchants have little willingness to stock up and inquire more on demand, resulting in light market transactions. In the face of demand for trichloromethane, support continues to weaken, and enterprise factory prices have been lowered, leading to a decline in the high prices of trichloromethane.

At the beginning of the month, methane chloride production started at 7.8%, and at the end of the month, methane chloride production fell back to 7.3%. Under the weak demand pattern, there is still pressure on the supply side of trichloromethane.

In October, the price of raw material methanol fluctuated and decreased, while the overall price of liquid chlorine declined. The cost support for trichloromethane was strong in the early stage and weakened in the later stage. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of the Business Society, as of October 31st, the spot price of methanol was 2430 yuan/ton, a decrease of 1.92% from 2478 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month, and the peak during the cycle was 2510 yuan/ton; At the beginning of October, the acceptance price of liquid chlorine tank trucks in Shandong region was 600 yuan/ton, and in the second half of the month, the lowest price dropped to 200 yuan/ton. As of October 31, the price was 300 yuan/ton.

The overall operation of refrigerant R22 is stable, and in the short term, there are more inquiries on demand for trichloromethane. Support for trichloromethane has slightly weakened, and the total production quota of R22 has been reduced by 19% to 181800 tons in 2023. In the medium to long term, overall support for trichloromethane demand has weakened.

Analysts from Business Society’s methane chloride data believe that in the short term, demand for trichloromethane is weak, coupled with a high drop in raw material prices, and it is expected that the market for trichloromethane will be weak in the short term. From a medium to long term perspective, under the condition of no strong cost support for trichloromethane, the market will basically show a trend of range fluctuations and consolidation due to demand constraints