Suddenly! A plunge of 6,000 yuan per ton! Chemical raw materials are now experiencing a steep decline!

Thread Content

Recently, some chemical products have suddenly changed course and started to decline due to weak demand from downstream industries. Bisphenol A products have seen a sharp decline. Currently, the average price of bisphenol A is 22,183 yuan per ton, down by 6,000 yuan per ton over the month, representing a decline of 21%. Traders are offering prices ranging from 22,000 to 22,500 yuan per ton. Under the dual-control policy, the production of epoxy resins is insufficient; the price of epichlorohydrin, one of the raw materials for epoxy resins, remains high, which limits the procurement of these raw materials by epoxy resin manufacturers. As a result, there is a clear bearish sentiment in the market regarding the future prospects of bisphenol A. It is surprising that, despite being in the same chemical industry-rich province and facing the same dual controls on energy consumption, different outcomes have emerged. According to Coating Procurement Network, this situation is not an isolated case in the chemical industry these days. A decline from moderate trading activity to weak demand, with prices falling slightly at first before dropping significantly, has become the reality for some chemical products recently. The price of n-butanol is 9,750 yuan per ton, down by about 5,850 yuan per ton from the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 37.5% ； The price of isobutanol is 9,612 yuan per ton, down by about 4,188 yuan per ton compared to the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 30.35%. Affected by the \"dual control\" measures in regions such as Jiangsu, production activities of downstream enterprises have declined, and some of the key factories that produce butyl acrylate have stopped operations or reduced their output. The demand from downstream sectors is declining, leading to a continuous drop in the purchase volume of n-butanol and isobutanol. The price of butadiene is 6,975 yuan per ton, down by about 3,590 yuan per ton from the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 34%. Affected by these policies, the operation of some downstream factories in the East China region has been restricted, resulting in a weak supply and demand situation in the market. Guangzhou Petrochemical charges 7,000 yuan per ton, Maoming Petrochemical charges 6,950 yuan per ton, and Sinochem Refining charges 6,900 yuan per ton. The price of isooctanol is 12,000 yuan per ton, down by about 5,000 yuan per ton from the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 30.9%. Lihua Yi offers 12,000 yuan per ton, with a decrease of 2,500 yuan per ton per day ； Hualu Hengsheng offers a price of 12,000 yuan per ton, with a decrease of 2,000 yuan per ton per day. The market conditions for isooctanol in the downstream sector are unfavorable; production by DOP manufacturers in this sector has declined, with customers making purchases mainly out of necessity. PVC downstream of DOP is currently subject to restrictions on energy consumption, resulting in a consistently low operating rate. The DOP price is 12,120 yuan per ton, down by about 2,667.5 yuan per ton from the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 18.04%. Due to the dynamics in the downstream PVC market, the industry’s operating rate is below 70%; furthermore, as a result of stricter regulations on energy consumption, most PVC manufacturers have reduced their production or ceased operations, leading to weak demand for DOP. The price of neopentyl glycol is 18,750 yuan per ton, down by about 1,850 yuan per ton compared to the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 8.98%. Although neopentyl glycol performed very well in the first half of the year, the crises in the real estate sector had a significant impact on aluminum profiles, building materials, and powder coatings. In September of this year, orders from polyester resin manufacturers to coating companies declined markedly, and lack of confidence in the market had a negative effect on neopentyl glycol as well, causing its prices to drop sharply. The price of TDI is 13,633 yuan per ton, down by about 700.33 yuan per ton from the beginning of the month, representing a decline of 4.89%. The distribution market in the East China region is operating at a stable level; prices in this market are relatively low. The price of domestically produced products is around 13,400–13,600 yuan per ton, while the TDI produced by Shandong Dongda Yino Wei Polyurethane Company has a price of 13,600 yuan per ton ； Zhejiang Mantangjin Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. charges 13,500 yuan per ton for domestically produced TDI. Policy-induced power restrictions have led to power cuts in the downstream markets of Guangzhou and Jiangsu, as well as production cuts due to environmental regulations. Demand from end-users is weak; sales in the sponge market are average. The curing agent market, as well as those related to runways and elastomers, are also experiencing sluggish sales. Additionally, the domestic TDI market is showing weak performance in the short term. In addition, various companies have announced price cuts for their products: Shandong Jin Yimeng Group has reduced the price of ethyl acetate by 500 yuan per ton, bringing the price to 10,000 yuan per ton. Jiangsu Lianhai Acetic Acid Biotechnology’s price for ethyl acetate has been reduced by 300 yuan per ton; the current price is 10,400 yuan per ton. The prevailing price range for hydrogenated benzene in the East China region is 7,800–7,900 yuan per ton, a decrease of 50 yuan per ton compared to the previous trading day. The price of polymer-grade propylene from Shandong Jingbo Petrochemical dropped by 50 yuan per ton, to 8,001 yuan per ton. ……As the deadline for year-end energy consumption assessments approaches, more and more provinces, cities, and regions are joining the ranks of those implementing strict controls on energy use. As a result, an increasing number of chemical enterprises are seeing reduced operational loads or even having to suspend production. This is followed by a decrease in raw material demand due to lower factory utilization rates. Under the pressure of weak demand in downstream markets, even high pricing cannot be maintained; companies have no choice but to reduce prices appropriately in order to retain customers and secure orders, trying every means possible to get through this tough period.