Since the end of 2018, the price of lithium metal has dropped frequently. In addition to the impact of the lower price of lithium salt, environmental protection inspection in winter led to the closure and rectification of downstream pharmaceutical enterprises, and the weakening of upstream demand was also a key factor.

SMM Market Research after the Spring Festival holidays, according to some lithium metal manufacturers revealed that orders before the Spring Festival are not good, rarely completed transactions. This is mainly due to the fact that lithium metal is a dangerous substance. Considering its flammable and explosive characteristics, downstream manufacturers do not stock up at all. This week, manufacturers of lithium metal and lithium strip lithium sheets began to work, but according to industry insiders, the demand for lithium strip lithium for a lithium battery manufacturer did not start to rise until January 15, or even after March, so the purchase of lithium metal would not begin until next week.

In the downturn, both the upstream and downstream markets are bearish on the price of lithium metal. A major lithium producer revealed that although the price of lithium metal has not yet been determined, the downward possibility is extremely high.

Potassium fertilizer exports are expected to increase substantially

The tentative tariff rate for import and export in 2019 and other adjustments proposed that zero tariff should be imposed on chemical fertilizers and other commodities from January 1, 2019. Before that, the export of potassium chloride and potassium sulfate had to impose a high tariff of 600 yuan per ton, which made the export of potassium fertilizer difficult.

Customs data show that in the first 11 months of 2018, China exported only 7726 tons of potassium sulfate, a decrease of 44.9% over the same period last year, and 54,000 tons of potassium chloride, a decrease of 74.6% over the same period last year. Potassium fertilizer exports are expected to increase substantially after the abolition of export tariffs in 2019.

From the specific export varieties, the export of potassium sulfate deserves more attention. The main reason is that China is a potassium-deficient country, which imports a large amount of potassium chloride every year. Potassium chloride mainly guarantees domestic supply. It is expected that the export volume of potassium chloride will not be too large in 2019. Potassium sulfate is a secondary processed product. Its output has increased dramatically in recent years and is in a state of oversupply. It is urgently needed to digest excess capacity through export. Enterprises are highly motivated to export. Potassium sulfate export is expected to be particularly hot in 2019.

French oil and gas giant Dordall expects its oil and gas production to grow by 9% this year after reaching a record level in 2018, according to Przewalski Energy Information London.

Following other oil giants, the company recently announced a series of strong results in the fourth quarter of last year. Total oil and gas production rose 8.1% year-on-year to 27.75 million barrels per day, a record high, Dodall said on Thursday.

The company expects that the Kaombo oilfield in northern Angola, Egina oilfield in Nigeria and Ichthys oilfield in northwestern Australia will help the company increase oil and gas production by 9% this year.

The company also stressed that the start-up of Iara-1 oilfield in Brazil, Kaombo South oilfield in Angola, Culzean oilfield in Britain and Johan Sverdrup oilfield in Norway will support the company’s oil and gas production growth this year.

The Ministry of Commerce recently issued a bulletin saying that since December 29, 2018, it has imposed anti-dumping duties on imported n-butanol originating in Taiwan, Malaysia and the United States.

Among them, the anti-dumping tax rate of Taiwan Plastic Industry Co., Ltd. in Taiwan is 6%, and that of other Taiwan companies is 56.1%; the anti-dumping tax rate of Eurasian companies in the United States is 52.2%, that of Eastman Chemical Company, Dow Chemical Company, Basf Company and other American companies is 139.3%; and the marketing of Malaysian Petrochemical Derivatives Company/Malaysian Petrochemical Company (Na) Fujian) Limited has an anti-dumping tax rate of 12.7%, while Basf Malaysian National Petroleum Chemicals Private Limited, Obertimo Malaysian Chemicals and other Malaysian companies have a tax rate of 26.7%.

On December 29, 2017, the Ministry of Commerce decided to conduct an anti-dumping investigation on imported n-butanol originating in Taiwan, Malaysia and the United States.

N-butanol is an important organic chemical raw material. It is mainly used in the production of downstream products such as butyl acrylate, butyl acetate, dibutyl phthalate, butylamine and ethylene glycol monobutyl ether. It is widely used in coatings, textile auxiliaries, plasticizers and other fields. N-butanol is also an extractant of oils, biochemicals and spices, an additive of alkyd resin coatings, and also used in the manufacture of surfactants.

In recent years, with the rapid development of domestic paint industry, domestic paint raw material enterprises have also grown up, and can independently produce and develop a variety of high-quality products. However, there is still a big gap between the development of downstream derivatives of n-butanol with high added value and high technology content and that of foreign countries. Some derivatives with special performance and high added value still need to be imported.

On January 29, the inventory of zinc ingots in London LME market was 114 650 tons, with a decrease of 600 tons, representing a decrease of 0.52%.

On January 29, the LME zinc ingot inventory was 114 650 tons, of which 57 050 tons were registered warehouse receipts, 57 650 tons were cancelled warehouse receipts, accounting for 49.76%.