Polyurethane market trends on 6/23

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The last edit to this post was made by PU3618988 on 2015-6-23 at 14:27. BDO: Market prices remain stable. This week, the market prices of BDO in China have remained stable; although plants such as Kaixiang and Tianye have started operating again one after another, overall production has not yet returned to normal levels, and the supply situation in the market remains tight. This week, some manufacturers have raised their quotes on a tentative basis, but given the high demand from end-users, adjustments are being made cautiously. Currently, low-end prices in the market are gradually disappearing; manufacturers prefer to enter long-term contracts, while smaller orders are generally negotiated at higher prices. In the morning, the BDO market in South China adopted a cautious attitude; some of the inventory held by downstream users was gradually being used up, with only limited amounts of spot purchases being made. The focus of negotiations shifted slightly upward. Current operators are proceeding with caution, closely monitoring the arrival of supplies from plants that have resumed operations. Currently, the negotiation prices for bulk water on the market are around 8,800–9,000 yuan per ton; some suppliers offering smaller quantities quote 9,000 yuan per ton. As for bottled water, the negotiation prices are said to be around 9,800–10,000 yuan per ton. AA: The market saw slight fluctuations; some supplies saw a modest increase at the start of the week, with other supplies also rising as a result of this trend. However, demand from downstream sectors remained weak. This week, the domestic AA market saw slight fluctuations. At the beginning of the week, prices of some products rose slightly, while prices of other products also increased as a result of market trends. However, demand from downstream sectors remained weak. During this traditional off-season, trading activity was sluggish. With the restart of the Liaoning Chemical complex approaching, there are concerns that supply levels will increase in the future. Under high inventory pressures, prices are under pressure to fall, and a cautious attitude prevails among market participants. Today, the AA grade market in South China is operating at a stable level; demand from downstream industries remains weak, and the overall production rate is not high. Market participants continue to adopt a cautious attitude. As of now, the price of Haili-grade goods in South China is 7,900–8,100 yuan per ton for cash payments, while it’s around 8,100–8,200 yuan per ton for payment by acceptance. The price of Tianli-grade goods in Xinjiang ranges from 8,100–8,300 yuan per ton, with lower prices for cash payments and higher prices for payment by acceptance. The TDI market sees weak trading activity; negotiations are under pressure and prices decline slightly. The raw material toluene has seen a downward trend this week. Terminal sponge coatings are in a poor state as well. The upstream raw material toluene continues to decline, while crude oil prices fluctuate and drop. There is little activity on the part of buyers and sellers in the market, with weak trading volume. There are many negative factors in the market, leading to a lack of confidence among traders, which in turn provides little support for TDI prices ； On the downstream side, demand for end-use sponge coatings is weak; the furniture industry is once again experiencing a wave of closures, and some coating manufacturers also cannot avoid misfortune amid the industry reshuffle. Market demand remains low, and the situation becomes even more sluggish during the traditional off-season periods. Industry meetings were held during the week, and after that some manufacturers announced their prices for this month and the next; suppliers clearly intend to support market prices. However, demand from downstream buyers is weak, leading to a balance of supply and demand in the market. For those holding inventory, it’s difficult to decide what to do, as they face the dilemma of either seeing prices rise or fall. Some of the chaotic prices in the market may gradually return to stability, so it’s best to adopt a wait-and-see approach ； The TDI market is expected to remain within a range next week; attention should be paid to actual market developments. Today, the TDI market in South China saw slight fluctuations; demand was weak, and imported supplies put pressure on the market. Negotiations were rather chaotic, with a strong atmosphere of caution among traders, who tended to adjust their actions according to market conditions. The tax-exclusive price for goods sourced from Shanghai is approximately 12,900–13,100 yuan per ton, for reference purposes. For domestically produced goods without tax, the negotiation price is around 12,600–12,800 yuan per ton; lower prices can be arranged for larger orders. Polymerized MDI: The market continues to show a downward trend, with prices falling steadily. Industry insiders generally report that demand from downstream sectors is weak. This week, the domestic polymeric MDI market continued its downward trend, with prices falling continuously. This week, the focus of the market remains on the continuous decline in prices. Those within the industry generally report that demand from downstream sectors is weak; with shipments facing difficulties, whether as a result of passive follow-through or active reduction of inventory levels, the successive drops in prices lead to a gradual decline in negotiation thresholds ； At this time, the suppliers have not given any clear signals of improvement, and some industry players are pessimistic; from the perspective of short-term interests, there is no desire for improvement, so the market is operating in a weak state, with either little stability or downward trends. Today, the polymeric MDI market in South China remains stable at low levels, with weak downstream demand leading to weak bargaining conditions in the market; there are no positive factors, and a bearish sentiment persists among market participants. As of now, the negotiated price for PM200 is 10,800–11,000 yuan per ton, M20S is priced at 10,800–10,900 yuan per ton, 44V20 has a negotiated price of 10,600–10,700 yuan per ton, 5005 also trades at 10,600–10,700 yuan per ton, while M200 and MR200 are priced between 10,600–10,900 yuan per ton. Pure MDI: The market is operating in a stable manner; it is currently in the traditional off-season, so market activity remains low. Buyers and sellers sell goods at market prices. This week, the domestic pure MDI market has operated in a steady manner. As it is the traditional off-season for downstream industries, market activity remains low; buyers and sellers settle transactions at prevailing market prices. At present, downstream demand is unlikely to improve in the short term, and suppliers are generally pessimistic about future conditions, which means that market prices will remain low in the near future. The market for pure MDI in South China is sluggish; demand during the off-season is low. Suppliers are closing deals based on contracts. As of now, the price for Bayer’s product in South China ranges from 17,000 to 17,500 yuan per ton, while the price for NPU product and Wanhua’s product ranges from 17,400 to 17,600 yuan per ton. Payment is required in cash for lower-end products, while credit is accepted for higher-end products. Soft polyether: Market sees slight decline, weak bargaining activity. Last week, the cyclopropane market showed mixed trends; downstream demand remains weak. Prices are expected to drop slightly in the coming period. This week, the domestic soft polyether market continued to decline slightly, with weak bargaining activity. Following the industry meeting last week, the cyclopropane market saw mixed trends; however, due to the weak downward trend in propylene and liquid chlorine, as well as sluggish demand from downstream sectors, prices gradually declined slightly before stabilizing at a weak level. Cyclopropane manufacturers had low inventory levels, so sales remained strong ； The terminal sponge market is sluggish; the furniture industry is once again experiencing a wave of closures. Market demand remains low, and the situation becomes even more subdued during the traditional off-season periods ； Some polyether manufacturers in the industry have reduced production and shut down their plants to ease inventory pressures in a sluggish market; however, with a lack of new orders, inventory levels are decreasing slowly, which inevitably leads to an increase in pressure again ； In the coming off-season, the weak market conditions will become even more apparent; there is little real demand. The future trend of the cyclopropane raw material is uncertain, with no positive factors likely to emerge. It is expected that the domestic soft polyether market will see fluctuations in the short term; attention should be paid to developments in cyclopropane. Today, the soft foam polyether market in South China is operating in a weak and stagnant manner, with few orders coming in. Polyether manufacturers are having difficulty selling their products, and various factors influencing supply and demand continue to weigh on the market, preventing an improvement in its sluggish conditions. Currently, the price for soft polyether is around 11,200–11,300 yuan per ton (cash payment, delivery to the site). Rigid polyether: The market opened with a slight decline before stabilizing and remaining in a range; the price of the raw material cyclopropane fluctuated slightly, while risk-aversion among downstream users increased. This week, the domestic rigid polyether market opened with a slight decline before settling at a stable level. On the demand side, there are limited orders from end-users; some polyether production plants are facing poor sales performance. Refrigerator-related materials provide some support, while coating applications are performing fairly well. Overall, the market trend is stable but weak ； The price of the raw material cyclopropane shows slight fluctuations, which still provides support for polyethers; however, the overall market trend is weak, and rising risk-aversion among downstream users is contributing to weak negotiation conditions ； With weak supply and demand in the rigid foam market, factories have reduced their quotes; market prices saw a slight adjustment at the beginning of the week, followed by consolidation as the market adjusted. Factories maintained stable operations, and market negotiations remained focused. The market for rigid polyether in South China is in a state of stagnation; mainstream downstream sectors provide stable support, but overall demand remains weak. The price of cyclopropane is stable but on a downward trend. Apart from purchases driven by essential downstream needs, companies are waiting to see how raw material prices evolve. As of now, the cash price for high-end rigid polyether 4110 in South China is around 10,600–10,700 yuan per ton, while the price for mid-range products is 10,300–10,400 yuan per ton, and that for low-end products is 9,300–9,600 yuan per ton. Source: Global Polyurethane