Entering 2026, the Chinese acrylic acid market did not see the expected “good start”, but instead fell into a “dilemma of ups and downs” in a volatile stalemate under the dual pressure of continuously rising raw material costs and weak recovery of terminal demand. In line with the downward trend of “no effective rebound” for the whole year of 2025.
Price trend:
Changes this week: As we enter January 2026, prices are gradually stabilizing. As of January 20th, the benchmark price of acrylic acid in Shengyi Society was 6000.00 yuan/ton, an increase of 2.56% compared to the beginning of this month (5850.00 yuan/ton).
Cost side:
The price of propylene raw materials has risen: Recently, propylene prices have been operating strongly, and the valuation range in Shandong has risen to 5750-5810 yuan/ton, with upward pressure. As a direct raw material for acrylic acid, propylene accounts for over 60% of the cost, and this round of price increase has directly pushed up the production cost of acrylic acid.
Narrowing profit margin: Although the price of acrylic acid has rebounded slightly, the increase is much lower than that of raw material propylene, leading to further compression of production profits. By the end of 2025, the industry’s profit per ton has fallen to a low level. Under current cost pressures, small, medium, and high cost enterprises may face losses, forcing them to reduce or shut down production.
Supply side:
Partial equipment resumption of production (such as one unit in Zibo) increases local supply, but the overall operating rate of the industry is still suppressed. Long term prices below the cost line trigger production capacity clearance, causing some companies to undergo maintenance or delay restart.
Demand side:
Downstream industries such as coatings and adhesives are in a traditional off-season, with procurement mainly focused on small orders for essential needs. The export market is under pressure, global demand is weak, and competition for low-cost production capacity in the Middle East is constraining export growth.
Short term outlook:
The oscillation is strong, but the upward space is limited, and the cost support is solid. If the price of propylene continues to rise, it will push acrylic acid to passively follow suit. After reaching the cost line of 5800 yuan/ton, the resistance to further decline increased, triggering supply contraction. There has been no significant improvement on the demand side, and there is a strong wait-and-see sentiment downstream. Additionally, some factories may shut down early before the Spring Festival. The pattern of overcapacity remains unchanged, and any rebound may stimulate the release of existing capacity and suppress growth.
Price range: It is expected that the mainstream price in the East China market will fluctuate within the range of 5900-6200 yuan/ton in the short term, and breakthrough depends on a significant increase in costs or supply contraction beyond expectations.

1、 Price trend
According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the average market price of domestic grade ammonium sulfate on January 16th was 1096 yuan/ton, which is 3.14% higher than the average market price of 1063 yuan/ton on January 12th.
2、 Market analysis
supply and demand situation
The price of ammonium sulfate in the domestic market has continued to rise this week. This week, the operating rate of coking grade ammonium sulfate remained stable, while the operating rate of domestic grade ammonium sulfate was relatively low, resulting in tight market supply. At present, ammonium sulfate manufacturers have no pressure on shipments and mainly focus on raising prices. Downstream on-demand procurement has increased the mentality of buying when prices rise and not buying when prices fall. The enthusiasm for restocking has also increased, and the trading atmosphere in the ammonium sulfate market has improved.
market situation
As of January 16th, the mainstream ex factory quotation for coking grade ammonium sulfate in Shandong region is around 970 yuan/ton. Domestic grade ammonium sulfate, the mainstream ex factory quotation in Shandong region is around 1070-1110 yuan/ton.
3、 Future forecast
An ammonium sulfate analyst from Shengyi Society believes that the recent strong upward trend in the ammonium sulfate market is the main trend. At present, the ammonium sulfate market is improving and terminal demand is increasing. It is expected that the short-term domestic ammonium sulfate market price will continue to operate strongly.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the domestic PTA market has been weak and adjusted since January. As of January 17th, the spot price of PTA in East China was 5019 yuan/ton, a decrease of 1.17% from the beginning of the month.
Recently, PTA plant restarts and maintenance coexist. Dushan Energy’s 3 million ton plant restarted on January 14th, Yisheng New Materials’ 3.6 million ton plant stopped on January 14th, and Zhuhai BP’s 1.25 million ton plant stopped on January 16th. Overall production has decreased to around 75%.
The disappearance of geopolitical premiums coupled with inventory pressure has led to a sharp decline in international crude oil prices, ending a five-day streak of gains. On January 15th, the settlement price of the March WTI crude oil futures contract in the United States was $59.08 per barrel, a decrease of $2.80 or 4.5%. The settlement price of Brent crude oil futures for March was $63.76 per barrel, a decrease of $2.76 or 4.1%.
Downstream polyester experienced seasonal decline before and after the Spring Festival. After the concentrated fermentation of downstream polyester production reduction news, a new round of production reduction for polyester filament began (mainstream filament manufacturers decided to start a one quarter continuous production reduction from January 14th, with a magnitude of 15%), and PTA traders’ willingness to hold goods weakened.
And the overall new order atmosphere of the terminal weaving end is still poor. At the beginning of the month, driven by the rising atmosphere of crude oil and costs, some customers with low inventory or intention to stock up on raw materials after the new year were driven to purchase raw materials. The overall wait-and-see sentiment is strong, maintaining a strong demand for raw material procurement.
Business analysts believe that PTA supply and demand expectations are gradually weakening, and there is significant pressure on inventory accumulation in February. It is expected that PTA prices will mainly follow fluctuations in raw materials in the short term.

Bromine is the only non-metallic substance in liquid form at room temperature, with the chemical formula Br2. It has a deep reddish brown color and a pungent odor. Bromine has lively physicochemical properties and can form a wide variety of inorganic bromides as well as a large number of organic compounds containing bromine. Due to the unique physicochemical properties of different bromides, bromine has become a widely used basic chemical raw material and is one of the key raw materials for chemical production and even the entire industrial production.
Take a look at the price of bromine: According to the commodity analysis system, the overall trend of bromine prices is expected to rise in 2025, with an average market price of 21900 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year and 36100 yuan/ton at the end of the year, representing a price increase of 64.84%.
In 2025, there will be an increase of one month in August, a decrease of three months, and a stabilization of one month. The month with the largest increase was March, when prices rose by 33.03%, and the month with the largest decrease was April, when prices fell by 25.5%.
Let’s take a look at the annual comparison chart of bromine. The overall price of bromine has been weak this year, and its price is at a relatively low historical level in about 5 years.
Let’s take a look at the specific price trend of bromine: From January to February, the price of bromine remained stable. At this stage, bromine was stocked before the festival, and construction began gradually after the festival. However, downstream demand is still mainly based on on-demand procurement, and the supply-demand game may continue to consolidate the operation of bromine. The price of bromine rose in March due to tight bromine inventory, active demand from downstream flame retardant manufacturers, and delayed imports of bromine, resulting in a price increase. It is expected that the price will remain stable with some increase in the short term. The price of bromine fell in mid to late April, mainly due to the increase in market supply and high inventory of bromine enterprises caused by the warming weather. In addition, China’s dependence on bromine imports is relatively high, and it is now approaching normalcy. In the early stage, the price of bromine rose, but downstream resistance led to demand driven procurement, resulting in weak bromine prices. From May to the end of August, the price of bromine continued to rise. With the improvement of downstream demand due to the warming weather and the impact of Hedgehog environmental inspections, the pressure on bromine inventory in enterprises was not significant, and the quotation remained firm. At this stage, there was also a decrease in supply during the rainy season, but downstream demand was average, and prices remained firm due to the pull of supply and demand. In September, there was a slight downward trend. Originally, due to the impact of the Golden September and Silver October, prices were expected to rise. Although environmental inspections and rainy season precipitation had little pressure on bromine inventory in enterprises, and spot supply in the market was relatively tight, bromine prices rose and downstream resistance caused bromine prices to decline. The price of bromine has been rising from early October to the end of the year.
Although the price of bromine in 2025 is historically low, can it maintain a strong market in 2026 compared to the overall annual increase?
On the supply side: From the supply side, there has been relatively little change in the supply of bromine in China, and the overall supply trend is relatively stable. Due to the decreasing underground brine resources, the increase in bromine production capacity in China is slow. The data shows that by 2025, the domestic bromine production capacity will be approximately 85000-95000 tons, with a production of 63000 tons.
In terms of import and export: Currently, the self-sufficiency rate of China’s domestic bromine market is not high, and bromine heavily relies on imports. China’s bromine self-sufficiency rate has remained at a low level in recent years, but the dependence on bromine imports is high, and the supply of the bromine industry chain is constrained by countries such as Israel, the United States, and India. Customs data shows that the annual import volume of bromine in China will be close to 80000 tons in 2025.

In terms of fuel, the long-term sluggish downstream demand has led to slow inventory consumption by manufacturers. The main flame retardant, tetrabromobisphenol A, maintains low load operation with low prices. The price of tetrabromobisphenol A is close to the cost line, resulting in a significant compression of profits. At the same time, there is a lack of order support. Bromine procurement is mainly sporadic replenishment, while flame retardant manufacturers only focus on essential replenishment.
Prediction: Business Society analysis believes that the price of bromine has been firm in the near future, and the downstream flame retardant and intermediate industries of bromine have received moderate support. The current operating situation of the bromine industry is at a low point throughout the year, and manufacturers generally have insufficient inventory. Important news has come from overseas markets, and some bromine factories in Jordan have entered a temporary shutdown. The change in bromine supply in our country is relatively small, and we rely on imported bromine from abroad. Overall, it is expected that the short-term price of bromine will remain strong in the short term.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, from January 4th to 9th, MTBE prices fell from 4853 yuan/ton to 4783 yuan/ton, with a price drop of 1.44% during the cycle, a month on month drop of 2.98%, and a year-on-year drop of 17.35%. The domestic MTBE market is showing a fluctuating downward trend, with significant local declines. On the first day of the New Year holiday, the trading atmosphere in the domestic MTBE market was good, with prices being relatively firm. However, the follow-up of terminal demand could not be sustained. In addition, the international crude oil trend fell, MTBE export negotiations were weak, and domestic supply pressure was high. Under the dominance of negative factors, manufacturers began to give up profits, and the focus shifted significantly downwards in some areas.
On the cost side, in terms of crude oil: the international oil price has fallen, and the main negative factors are that the situation between the United States and Venezuela has not yet intensified, and the market believes that Venezuela’s domestic production will increase in the long term, posing a risk of oversupply. As of January 8th, the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures for the March contract was $61.99 per barrel.
On the demand side, in terms of downstream gasoline, the weak performance of crude oil has affected the oil market, and the decline in refined oil prices continues. At present, terminal demand is weak, and social units’ inventory digestion is slow. Intermediate traders are cautious in their ordering operations. The MTBE demand side is affected by bearish factors.
Supply side: The sample capacity utilization rate of MTBE export factories in Shandong region is 63.33%, a decrease of 0.86 percentage points. The shutdown of Dongfang equipment has resulted in a decrease in operating rate. The supply of MTBE is affected by favorable factors.
As of the close on December 8th, the closing price of the Asian MTBE market has increased by $1.95/ton compared to the previous trading day, with FOB Singapore closing at $608.32-610.32/ton. The closing price of the European MTBE market increased by $14.75/ton compared to the previous trading day, and FOB ARA closed at $705.74-706.24/ton. The closing price of the MTBE market in the United States increased by $35.88/ton compared to the previous trading day, and the FOB Gulf offshore price closed at $623.43-623.78/ton (176.03-176.13 cents/gallon).
In the future, it is predicted that there will be significant pressure on domestic supply, but there will be no significant improvement in the demand for gasoline terminals. MTBE analysts from Shengyi Society believe that the domestic MTBE market is mainly consolidating weakly.