国君机械|气体价格逐步企稳,下游需求有望回升——工业气体行业更新

Investment Rating - The report suggests a positive outlook for the industrial gas sector, particularly in downstream industries such as steel, chemicals, and machinery manufacturing, which are expected to recover alongside downstream demand [1]. Core Insights - The report highlights that bulk gas prices are currently under pressure due to downstream demand but are expected to gradually recover as domestic economic policies take effect. Rare gas prices are anticipated to remain relatively stable, while electronic specialty gases are projected to grow rapidly with the increasing demand from the semiconductor sector [1]. Summary by Sections Bulk Gases - Prices for oxygen and nitrogen have decreased month-on-month, while argon prices remained stable. As of October 8, the average prices were: liquid oxygen at 376.67 CNY/ton (down 24.09% year-on-year, down 1.67% month-on-month), liquid nitrogen at 408.71 CNY/ton (down 23.67% year-on-year, down 5.58% month-on-month), and liquid argon at 581.19 CNY/ton (down 41.32% year-on-year, up 0.04% month-on-month) [1]. Rare Gases - Prices for neon and krypton remained stable, while xenon prices decreased. As of October 8, the prices were: neon at 120 CNY/m³ (down 52% year-on-year, stable month-on-month), krypton at 330 CNY/m³ (down 49.23% year-on-year, stable month-on-month), and xenon at 30,500 CNY/m³ (down 51.2% year-on-year, down 8.96% month-on-month) [1]. Demand and Production - The average operating load of air separation units was reported at 66.35% as of September 25, 2024, a decrease of 1.4 percentage points from early September. The steel industry's weekly operating rate was 75.5% as of September 30, 2024, reflecting a 0.5 percentage point increase. With the government's economic policies, bulk gas prices are expected to gradually recover [1]. The semiconductor sector, which is a key consumer of rare gases, reported sales of 15.48 billion USD in August 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 19.2%, indicating robust growth [1].