1、 Price trend

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, the average market price of domestic liquid caprolactam on December 18th was 13075 yuan/ton, and on December 22nd, the average market price of domestic liquid caprolactam was 13425 yuan/ton. The price of caprolactam increased by 2.68% this week.

2、 Market analysis

The market price of caprolactam continued to rise this week. The price of raw material pure benzene has increased, leading to increased cost support. Downstream demand is stable, with on-demand procurement being the main focus. The spot supply of caprolactam is tightening, with support from the supply and demand sides. As of December 22nd, Sinopec’s high-end caprolactam settled at a price of 13575 yuan/ton this month. It is a liquid premium product and will be accepted and self picked up in June.

This week, the price of raw material pure benzene has increased. On December 18th, the price of pure benzene was 6837 yuan/ton. On Friday (December 22nd), the price of pure benzene was 7080 yuan/ton, an increase of 3.76% from last week and 8.38% from the same period last year. This week, the price of Sinopec pure benzene was 6950 yuan/ton (prices in Shandong and Hebei regions increased by 150 yuan/ton simultaneously).

The downstream PA6 market has risen this week. The price of caprolactam has increased significantly, and the cost support for PA6 has strengthened. The load of domestic polymerization plants is almost horizontal, and the inventory position remains low. The demand side is cautious in purchasing goods, and market trading tends towards the low-end. As of December 22nd, the average reference price for domestic PA6 is 14575 yuan/ton.

3、 Future Market Forecast

Business Society Caprolactam Analysts believe that the recent market trend of caprolactam is relatively strong. The price of raw material pure benzene has rebounded and risen, and the downstream PA6 market is improving. In addition, the supply of caprolactam in the market is tight. Under the influence of favorable factors, it is expected that the price of caprolactam will continue to rise in the short term.

According to the commodity market analysis system of Business Society, the formaldehyde market in Shandong has recently declined. At the beginning of the week, the average price of formaldehyde in Shandong was 1193.33 yuan/ton, and on the weekend, the average price of formaldehyde in Shandong was 1186.67 yuan/ton, a decrease of 0.56%. The current price has dropped by 5.32% compared to last year.

formaldehyde

Recently, the price of formaldehyde in the Shandong region has fluctuated and fallen. From the above chart, it can be seen that the formaldehyde market has mainly fluctuated slightly in the past two months, with a slight decline this week. As of December 21st, the mainstream market price in Shandong region is 1100-1260 yuan/ton. This week, the price of raw material methanol fluctuated and fell, with poor cost support. Downstream sheet factories frequently took vacations, and procurement efforts led to a decline in the formaldehyde market.

Upstream methanol situation: In terms of supply, there is currently not much pressure on power plant replenishment, and there is a strong wait-and-see attitude. Most of the procurement plans have been postponed, resulting in low market activity. With the start of gas restrictions in Southwest China, there is a downward trend in domestic supply and demand, but there has been no significant change for the time being. Business Society Methanol Analyst predicts that the domestic methanol market is mainly weak and consolidating.

Recently, the methanol market has been weak and consolidating, with poor cost support and poor downstream demand. Therefore, formaldehyde analysts from the Chemical Branch of Shengyishe predict that the price of formaldehyde in Shandong will mainly decline in the near future.

Recently, the market for epoxy propane has remained stable, with some companies experiencing narrow price fluctuations. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Business Society, as of December 19th, the average price of epoxy propane for enterprises was 9287.50 yuan/ton, a 0.13% decrease compared to last Wednesday (December 13th).

Cost side: According to the commodity market analysis system of Shengyishe, the domestic propylene (Shandong) market has recently experienced a slight decline. On December 19th, the reference price for propylene was 6883.25, a decrease of 3.13% compared to December 1st (7105.75). Recently, the upstream liquid chlorine price has slightly increased, and the cost face is generally supported by the epoxypropane market.

Supply and demand side: Last Wednesday, the supply was stable and factory shipments were flat, with limited downstream follow-up. As prices remained low, downstream watchful increments followed, factory shipments rebounded, and inventory pressure gradually eased. At the beginning of this week, Qixiang stopped selling 70%, supporting the market’s price boosting mentality. Downstream watchful follow-up was moderate. On December 19th, the mainstream quotation in the East China epoxy propane market was 9200-9300 yuan/ton.

The epoxy propane analyst from Business Society believes that the current cost support is average, factory shipments are still acceptable, and the market has a strong wait-and-see atmosphere. It is expected that in the short term, the epoxy propane market may continue to operate in a consolidation manner, and more attention should be paid to market news guidance.

1、 Price trend

According to the Commodity Analysis System of Business Society, the domestic market price of new pentanediol has slightly declined this week. This week, the average price of new pentanediol in the mainstream domestic market dropped from 9575.00 yuan/ton at the beginning of the week to 9525.00 yuan/ton over the weekend, a decrease of 0.52%, and the weekend price increased by 3.91% year-on-year. On December 18th, the new pentanediol commodity index was 45.90, unchanged from yesterday, a decrease of 55.70% from the highest point in the cycle of 103.61 points (2021-09-22), and an increase of 6.62% from the lowest point of 43.05 points on November 28th, 2022. (Note: The cycle refers to the period from September 1, 2021 to present)

2、 Market analysis

The mainstream market price of new pentanediol has slightly declined this week.

From the upstream raw material market of neopentyl glycol, the price of isobutyraldehyde in the domestic market has slightly increased this week. This week, the average price of isobutyraldehyde in the mainstream domestic market increased from 7900.00 yuan/ton at the beginning of the week to 7933.33 yuan/ton over the weekend, an increase of 0.42%. The weekend price increased by 20.20% year-on-year. The upstream raw material market prices have slightly increased, with good cost support. However, due to the impact of supply and demand, it has a positive impact on the price of new pentanediol.

3、 Future prospects

In late December, the trend of the new pentanediol market may fluctuate slightly and rise mainly. The upstream isobutyraldehyde market has slightly increased, with good cost support. The downstream paint market is average, and downstream procurement enthusiasm is average. Business Society’s new pentanediol analyst believes that in the short term, the market for new pentanediol may experience slight fluctuations and increases due to various factors such as supply and demand and raw materials.

According to price monitoring data from Business Society, as of December 18, 2023, the domestic market price of n-propanol was referenced at 7850 yuan/ton. Compared with December 12, 2023 (reference price of n-propanol was 7883 yuan/ton), the price was reduced by 33 yuan/ton. Compared with November 1, 2023 (reference price of n-propanol was 7766 yuan/ton), the price was increased by 34 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.07%.

From the monitoring chart of Business Society data, it can be seen that in the recent period (12.12-12.18), the overall market situation of domestic n-propanol has shown a slight decline. In early December, the domestic n-propanol market remained stable and the fundamentals within the n-propanol market were relatively calm. Until mid December, some n-propanol factories and operators in Shandong region narrowly lowered the price of n-propanol by about 50-100 yuan/ton, driving a slight decline in the overall n-propanol market. The supply and demand side of n-propanol was relatively stable, and the market did not continue to decline. After a slight decline, the overall market remained stable. As of December 18th, the domestic market price in Shandong region is around 7000-7800 yuan/ton. The normal operation of the n-propanol plant in the Nanjing area, and the overall stable operation of the n-propanol market, with a reference price of around 8500-9000 yuan/ton for the n-propanol market. Dealers in different regions still have reservations about prices, and the difficulty in monitoring prices may lead to differences in specific negotiation situations. Each region also has differences, and actual negotiations are the main focus.

Prediction of future market trends of n-propanol

At present, the overall trading atmosphere in the domestic n-propanol market is mild, and the supply side is stable. Downstream demand orders are mainly based on rigid procurement. Business Society’s n-propanol data analyst predicts that in the short term, the domestic n-propanol market will mainly operate with large stability and small fluctuations. The specific trend still needs to pay more attention to changes in supply and demand news.