October 8th News
According to the commodity market analysis system: Recently, China's 85% formic acid market has shown a trend of "continuous decline before the holiday and stabilization after the holiday." On October 8th, after the holiday, the benchmark price for 85% formic acid was 2,000 CNY per ton, a 13% decrease from 2,300 CNY per ton in the same period last month; it remained unchanged compared to before the holiday. Overall, the short-term supply and demand situation for formic acid has improved, and market fluctuations have become more stable.
At the end of September, the market was affected by factors such as inventory accumulation and pre-holiday clearance, leading to a slight decline in prices.
The core reason for the price decline is the continuous accumulation of inventory in the market, with the pace of shipments slowing down earlier, and the inventory pressure on merchants gradually increasing. To quickly recover funds and activate inventory, some merchants actively released low-priced goods, leading to an increase in low-price transactions in the market, which directly caused a slight decrease in the overall market transaction average price, and the overall bargaining atmosphere in the industry was weak. With the special market factor of the approaching National Day holiday, most production enterprises, to avoid the risk of inventory buildup during the long holiday, concentrated on clearing their inventories, continuously releasing low-priced goods into the market. Downstream terminals mainly replenished stocks according to demand, showing weak willingness to stock up before the holiday, resulting in insufficient market demand support. Under the mismatch between supply and demand, the focus of formic acid market transactions continued to shift downward, and the market situation before the holiday was generally under pressure.
Post-holiday market returns to stability in China
After two rounds of adjustments before the holiday, the formic acid market fundamentals gradually improved during the National Day holiday, and the market stabilized. On October 8, China's 85% industrial-grade formic acid market was mainly in a sideways consolidation. During the holiday, mainstream manufacturers stopped selling at low prices, and market quotes stabilized at around 2000 CNY/ton, with prices remaining stable throughout and no significant fluctuations. At the same time, the smooth periodic shipments during the holiday effectively alleviated the previous inventory pressure, and the overall industry inventory returned to a reasonable mid-level, improving the market supply-demand imbalance.
Based on a comprehensive analysis of recent market trends, price fluctuations in the formic acid market are primarily driven by inventory cycles and holiday‑related trading patterns. Pre‑holiday inventory buildups and subsequent concentrated destocking have led to price declines, while post‑holiday inventory digestion and manufacturers’ efforts to support prices have helped stabilize and lift the market. At present, inventory pressures remain manageable, and traders are adopting a cautious pricing stance. In the short term, absent any new supply‑ or demand‑side catalysts—positive or negative—China’s formic acid market is likely to continue trading within a narrow range, with prices hovering around RMB 2,000 per ton. Going forward, close attention should be paid to the pace of downstream demand recovery and changes in manufacturers’ inventory levels.
