The phthalic anhydride market remained sluggish in August

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, as of August 28th, the price of phthalic anhydride produced by phthalic anhydride was 7587.50 yuan/ton, a decrease of 3.80% from the price of 7887.50 yuan/ton on August 1st. The prices of raw materials have been continuously falling, and the price of phthalic anhydride has slightly declined several times in August, resulting in a sustained downturn in the phthalic anhydride market. At the end of August, domestic ortho phthalic anhydride was priced at 7500-7700 yuan/ton before leaving the factory, while domestic nano phthalic anhydride was priced at 7100-7300 yuan/ton before leaving the factory.

Supply side: Stable supply of goods

The operation of domestic phthalic anhydride plants is temporarily stable, with a production rate of about 60%. The spot supply of phthalic anhydride is stable, and the sales situation of phthalic anhydride manufacturers is average. In August, the price of industrial naphthalene stabilized strongly, and the market for naphthalene based phthalic anhydride stabilized. The market for ortho phthalic anhydride fell, and cost support decreased. The market for ortho phthalic anhydride fell.

The cost of raw material ortho benzene has dropped for three consecutive times

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, as of August 28th, the price of ortho benzene was 7900 yuan/ton, a triple decline of 7.06% compared to the price of 8500 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month. The price of ortho benzene has fallen, and the cost of raw materials for phthalic anhydride has decreased, resulting in significant downward pressure on phthalic anhydride. Industrial naphthalene manufacturers have reduced their burden and pressure, resulting in a tight supply. Industrial naphthalene is experiencing a narrow range of price increases, and there is a strong willingness for the rise of naphthalene phthalic anhydride. Phthalic anhydride manufacturers are losing money, and they have a strong willingness to raise prices. The downward pressure on neighboring phthalic anhydride raw materials is increasing, and neighboring phthalic anhydride prices are weakly consolidating.

Demand side: DOP market hits bottom

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, as of August 28th, the price of plasticizer DOP was 8761 yuan/ton, a decrease of 7.78% from the DOP price of 9500 yuan/ton on August 1st at the beginning of the month. Jinjiu is approaching, terminal demand is slowly recovering, raw material octanol prices have stopped falling and rebounded, costs have stopped falling, downstream customers’ enthusiasm for placing orders has rebounded, plasticizer transaction willingness has increased, and plasticizer DOP prices have stopped falling and rebounded.

Future forecast

According to the data analyst of Shengyi Society’s phthalic anhydride products, in terms of cost, the price of ortho xylene has fallen, and the cost of phthalic anhydride has decreased; In terms of demand, the downstream DOP market has rebounded and stopped falling, while the demand for plasticizers has slightly rebounded. In the future, with cost reduction and weak demand, it is expected that the neighboring phthalic anhydride market will remain weak and stabilize.

In late August, the acetone market entered a deep decline mode. According to the analysis system of Business Society, the national acetone market has been trading at an average price of 6800 yuan/ton since August 16th, falling to 6435 yuan/ton on August 27th, a decrease of 5.37%. Looking at the acetone market in East China, it has been trading at an average price of 6650 yuan/ton since August 16th, falling to 6250 yuan/ton on August 27th, a decrease of 6.02%. During this period, lower prices still entered the market.

In terms of supply, the inventory at Jiangyin Port reached 35000 tons in the latter half of the year, the highest level since the beginning of the year. There will continue to be imports and domestic trade shipments arriving to replenish the inventory. It is understood that the import sources are mainly from South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand, and it is not ruled out that the high level at the end of the month will continue.

As Shenghong Refining and Wanhua Chemical plants resume operations, the operating rate of domestic phenol ketone plants continues to remain around 80%. It is reported that the operating rate at the end of the month has further increased, and the operating rate in September may approach 90%. From this, it can be seen that the acetone production in August was 270000 tons, and the acetone production in September increased to 300000 tons. The supply has been consistently high recently.

From a cost perspective, pure benzene has fallen due to weakened support from the cost side, slow inventory digestion, significant accumulation of inventory, significant resistance to shipment from petrochemical enterprises, and pressure to digest contract sources. Under multiple pressures, traders have had to lower their prices to ship.

The acetone offers in major mainstream markets across the country on August 27th are as follows:

Region/ Quotation/ Price range (8.16-27)

East China region/ 6250./ -400

Shandong region/ 6400./ -350

Yanshan region/ 7450./ -400

South China region/ 7550./ -400

From the demand side, the top two downstream industries have relatively stable production, with bisphenol A production at 60% and acetone cyanohydrin MMA production at 50%. The overall production of bisphenol A and MMA downstream is stable, with limited export orders for isopropanol and domestic facilities maintaining a level close to 50%.

With the wide decline of the acetone market, the end of the month is approaching. The operating rate of phenol ketone factories remains high, and the import contract goods are arriving at the port normally, with sufficient supply. Traders still have shipment pressure; From the demand side, solvent terminal factories have seen an increase in demand for acetone as the weather cools down. Currently, acetone has bottomed out, making it a good time for the demand side to restock. In September, there will be a demand for stocking during the Double Festival holiday, and Business Society expects that trading will improve in the later period.

1、 Price trend

According to data monitored by Shengyi Society, as of August 26th, the average price of industrial grade high-quality cyclohexane in China this week was 7833.33 yuan/ton, a decrease of 0.42% compared to the same period last week. Recently, cyclohexane prices have been narrowly lowered, and downstream demand is weak. Overall market shipments are slow and inventory is running at a high level. Downstream purchases are mainly for essential needs, and many businesses are adopting a cautious and wait-and-see attitude.

2、 Market analysis

Cost wise: Upstream pure benzene prices are mainly fluctuating, with a lack of support on the cost side. Pure benzene ports continue to accumulate inventory, resulting in insufficient support on the cost side and a fluctuating decline. International crude oil prices have fallen, with a weak focus. Downstream rigid demand procurement is the main focus, and the market price of pure benzene lacks sufficient momentum.

3、 Future forecast

The cyclohexane analyst from Shengyi Society believes that it is expected that the market price of cyclohexane will fluctuate weakly in the short term. Currently, the upstream cost support is average, and downstream demand is insufficient.

According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, the price of domestic polyester filament has declined this week. Currently, the mainstream polyester filament factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, POY (150D/48F), offer prices of 7400-7600 yuan/ton, polyester DTY (150D/48F low elasticity), offer prices of 9000-9200 yuan/ton, and polyester FDY (150D/96F), offer prices of 8000-8200 yuan/ton.

In early August, the inventory pressure of polyester factories increased and price promotions were launched. In mid to late August, downstream users showed a strong downward trend, and the polyester filament market had light trading with sparse actual transactions. The overall inventory of polyester market is concentrated in 12-24 days.

In terms of raw materials, the PTA internal price has dropped from the highest point of 6110 yuan/ton to the current 5350 yuan/ton; The price of ethylene glycol in the inner plate has dropped from the highest of 4820 yuan/ton to the current 4585 yuan/ton. The limited cost support is the fundamental reason for the decline in filament prices.

Overall, the recent market trend of polyester filament has shown a downward adjustment in prices, and the future development of the market will be influenced by various factors, including raw material prices, market supply and demand, export situation, and policy environment.

1、 Price trend

Taking the sulfuric acid method gold red stone titanium dioxide with a large volume of goods in the domestic market as an example, according to data monitoring by Business Society, the average price of titanium dioxide in the domestic market this week was 15816.67 yuan/ton, and the market is temporarily stable.

2、 Market analysis

The domestic titanium dioxide market is temporarily stable this week. The price of titanium concentrate on the raw material remained stable at a high level, while the price of sulfuric acid increased slightly. The production cost pressure of titanium dioxide is still significant due to the influence of raw materials. This week, the manufacturer’s quotation is mainly stable, while the trader’s quotation is relatively flexible. The overall trading situation in the market is light, with limited new transactions. As of now, the domestic quotation for sulfuric acid based pyrite type titanium dioxide is mostly between 15400-16300 yuan/ton; The quotation for rutile titanium dioxide is around 14200-15000 yuan/ton. The actual transaction price is negotiable.

In terms of titanium concentrate, the market price of titanium concentrate in the Panxi region is currently stable. At present, the spot prices in the market are relatively stagnant, and the price of titanium ore is running at a high level. Downstream titanium dioxide enterprises are generally in the market, and they are more cautious about titanium concentrate, with a focus on urgent needs and cautious procurement. As of now, the price of 38-42 grade titanium ore without tax is around 1620-1650 yuan/ton, the price of 46 grade 10 titanium concentrate without tax is around 2280-2300 yuan/ton, and the price of 47 grade 20 titanium concentrate without tax is around 2400-2500 yuan/ton. In the short term, the price of Panxi titanium concentrate continues to operate at a high level, and the specific transaction price will be discussed on a case by case basis.

3、 Future forecast

The titanium dioxide analyst from Shengyi Society believes that the domestic titanium dioxide market is basically stable this week, and trading on the market is relatively flexible. This week, the price of titanium concentrate has been running at a high level, while the price of sulfuric acid has slightly increased, putting pressure on the cost of titanium dioxide. Downstream market demand is light, so we should be cautious and cautious in trading. It is expected that the market will remain stable in the short term, with actual transaction prices subject to negotiation.