Entering May 2025, the Titanium Tetrachloride market in France has experienced a continued decline in prices mainly driven by oversupply and weak consumption across major downstream sectors. Titanium Tetrachloride widely used in the paints and coatings sector especially within the automotive industry has seen its market fundamentals shift in response to both local and global challenges.

One of the key reasons behind the price drop of Titanium Tetrachloride in France was the persistent oversupply. Even though local Titanium Tetrachloride producers have tried to cut back their output to better match the declining demand inventory levels have remained high. This was largely due to slow export movements especially to major trading partners such as Germany and the USA. The lack of international demand has left large volumes of Titanium Tetrachloride stockpiled within the country.

As a result sellers in France have been compelled to lower their Titanium Tetrachloride prices in an attempt to clear out excess inventory. The move was aimed at maintaining cash flow and preventing further build-up of unsold stock in warehouses. With market activity staying slow and demand unlikely to bounce back in the short term downward pricing trends have continued into May, marked by 1.1% drop in FOB Le Havre prices.

Domestic consumption of Titanium Tetrachloride has also been weak particularly from the automotive sector which remain the primary consumer due to its usage in automotive paint applications. According to data released by Platforme de la Filiere Automobile (PFA) vehicle sales in France fell by 5.6% year-on-year reaching only 138,694 units in April 2025. This decline reflected falling consumer confidence, increased economic uncertainty and concerns over the impact of U.S. tariff policies. With the automotive sector underperforming buyers in the domestic market remained hesitant in making bulk purchases adopting a cautious stance while making purchases.

On a broader scale the Western European automotive market has shown mixed signals. While countries like Spain have reported positive vehicle sales up by 7% YoY in April other major markets such as France, Germany and the UK have faced challenges. The UK for instance saw sales drop by over 10% in April partly due to fewer selling days and shifts in tax regulations. These overall weak trends across the region have affected the demand for Titanium Tetrachloride as fewer vehicles being produced translated to lower need for paints and coatings.

Even though Spain showed some resilience the general market environment in Western Europe remains fragile. Year to date figures also reflected a minor drop reinforcing the idea that macroeconomic factors including trade policy uncertainties continue to influence buyer behavior negatively. With buyers holding off on large purchases and end-users reducing order volumes Titanium Tetrachloride consumption remained subdued.

Looking ahead, Titanium Tetrachloride prices in France are projected to follow the bearish trend persistent so far. The continued high inventory levels, coupled with soft domestic demand and limited export activity are expected to compel sellers to lower their quotations for the month to get rid of the excess stock. Until there is a clear recovery in the automotive sector and improvement in international trade relations the market sentiment in the Titanium Tetrachloride market is likely to remain subdued.