# Fluorspar: Correlation Prices it moves with, and why Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/correlation/ Fluorspar is mined mainly in China, Mexico, Mongolia and South Africa. Acid-grade spar makes hydrofluoric acid for refrigerants, fluoropolymers and battery salts; metallurgical grade is a steel flux. Chinese mine closures and export policy set prices, quoted privately. No public price Fluorspar has no public monthly price series: Grades priced privately in negotiated deals; no public monthly index. #### What its price moves with Chemical [HF Hydrofluoric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/)Product made Almost all acid-grade fluorspar is reacted with sulphuric acid to make hydrofluoric acid, the starting point of fluorine chemistry. Spar is the main cost of the acid, so a fluorspar squeeze in China passes quickly into hydrofluoric acid prices. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Chemical [H2SO4 Sulphuric acid](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/sulphuric_acid/)Co-input Making hydrofluoric acid needs a large amount of sulphuric acid alongside the fluorspar, plus heat, and leaves gypsum as a by-product. Sulphuric acid cost therefore matters to fluorspar buyers, but spar quality and supply dominate. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Commodity [St Steel](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/steel/)Flux use Metallurgical-grade fluorspar thins slag in steelmaking and foundries, helping remove impurities. Steel output, especially in China, sets demand for this lower grade, which is priced separately from acid grade and is easier to replace with other fluxes. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Commodity [Al Aluminium](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/aluminum/)Smelting input Aluminium smelters use aluminium fluoride and cryolite, both made from hydrofluoric acid, in the electrolytic bath. Higher aluminium output raises fluoride demand, linking smelting to fluorspar, although smelters recycle much of the fluoride captured from their exhaust gases. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. Chemical [LiPF6 Battery electrolytes](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/electrolytes/)Battery use Lithium hexafluorophosphate, the salt in most lithium-ion electrolytes, is made with hydrofluoric acid. Battery growth has made this a fast-rising fluorspar outlet, and governments now list fluorspar as a critical mineral. No public price for battery electrolytes, so the link is explained in words only. Energy [HP Heat pumps, air conditioning and refrigeration](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_heat_pumps/)Refrigerant use Fluorocarbon refrigerants for air conditioners, heat pumps and refrigerators are a large use of hydrofluoric acid. Phase-down rules on high-warming refrigerants change the mix of gases sold, but cooling demand keeps fluorine use high. Not enough overlapping price history to measure. How to read these numbers **Correlation of monthly changes** (the number in the coloured pill) compares how much each price moved, month by month, since 2006 or the first month both series exist. It runs from −1 to +1: near +1 the two usually rise and fall in the same months, near 0 there is no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. Above 0.7 is strong, 0.4 to 0.7 moderate, 0.2 to 0.4 weak. **12-month changes** compare year-on-year moves, which shows whether two prices share the same cycles even when the month-to-month noise differs. **Price function** is a straight-line fit of the two prices on logarithmic scales: price ≈ k × (partner price)^β. β is how much this price moves, in per cent, for a 1% move in the partner over the whole period, and R² is the share of the variation the fit explains. Two prices that both drift up with inflation can fit well without any real link, so read it together with the monthly correlation. **Lead or lag** checks whether the monthly correlation is clearly higher when one price is shifted by 1 to 6 months. Correlation is not cause. The reasons on each card explain the economic link; the numbers show how strongly it has shown up in prices. Proxy series are US producer price indexes or related prices and can blur the real link. Data: World Bank Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet), October 2026; US Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price indexes, IMF primary commodity prices and US EIA prices via FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, retrieved November 2026. Calculations by this site. ## Other sections - [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/index.md) - [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/overview/index.md) - [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/extraction/index.md) - [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/production/index.md) - [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/stocks/index.md) - [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/cycles/index.md) - [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/trading/index.md) - [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/movement/index.md) - [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/criticality/index.md) - [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/characteristics/index.md) - [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/emissions/index.md) - [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/fluorspar/links/index.md)