On June 2, the phthalic anhydride commodity index was 58.72, unchanged from yesterday, down 51.12% from the cyclical peak of 120.13 points (2012-02-28), and up 21.27% from the lowest point of 48.42 on January 21, 2016. (Note: Period refers to 2011-09-01 to date).

Recent domestic market price trend of phthalic anhydride has maintained low, the phthalic anhydride market in eastern China has maintained a weak position, downstream factories have maintained just-needed procurement, factory inventory pressure has continued, high-end transactions have been blocked, the mainstream of on-site neighbouring source negotiations is 5900-6000 yuan/ton, the mainstream of naphthalene source negotiations is 5600-5700 yuan/ton; the mainstream price of phthalic anhydride market in North China is 5900-6000 yuan/ton, and the market is weak. The price of phthalic anhydride in China is stable, the spot supply of phthalic anhydride is normal, the market is not good, and the price of phthalic anhydride is declining.

Recently, the executive price of the upstream product of phthalic anhydride, Sinopec o-phthalic anhydride, is 6200 yuan/ton. The actual transaction price in the market is 6200 yuan/ton. The quotation is declining, and the port market is general. The upstream raw material mixed xylene price fluctuation maintains stable, the turnover of phthalic acid is general, the port phthalic acid inventory is low, the quotation of phthalic acid external market is low, the import phthalic acid cost fluctuation, the actual transaction price is discussed in detail, the upstream price trend is declining, and the market price of phthalic anhydride remains weak. DOP downstream price is lower, DOP downstream demand is general, customer procurement enthusiasm is not good, DOP market mainstream transaction price is about 7300 yuan/ton, DOP downstream price is still under pressure, downstream price is slightly lower, demand for upstream phthalic anhydride is limited, phthalic anhydride market price is slightly lower, it is expected that the later market price of phthalic anhydride will be around 6000 yuan/ton.

Over the past decade, the Asian polycarbonate (PC) market has fallen to an all-time low. During the Sino-US trade war, it may continue to be hit by a large supply situation, and the situation of adequate supply may continue.

由于供应过剩，PC现货价格延续了下跌趋势，而需求却在下降，尤其是在关键的中国市场的进口需求。数据显示，6月份市场讨论度下降，通用成型级PC在中国的平均出货量为2000美元/吨CIF(成本、保险和运费)。

Due to oversupply, PC spot prices continue to decline, while demand is declining, especially in key Chinese markets. Data show that market discussion declined in June, with the average shipment of GM PC in China being $2,000 per ton CIF (cost, insurance and freight).

该级别的现货价格比前一周下降了50美元/吨，较上个月的水平下降了约9%，价格处于近十年来的历史最低点。数据显示，以到岸价计算，GP成型级PC的价格上一次维持在每吨2000美元的水平是在2009年4月。

Spot prices at this level have fallen by $50 per ton from the previous week, about 9 per cent from last month’s level, and are at their lowest level in nearly a decade. Data show that the price of GP-grade PC was last maintained at the level of $2000 per ton in CIF terms in April 2009.

In the oversupply market, PC prices in Asia are seen as close to bottoming.

“China’s warehouses are full of PC stocks,” said a Northeast Asian market person. While import demand is weak, the RMB depreciates against the US dollar, making imported materials inexpensive.

This pessimism is further exacerbated by the ongoing Sino-US trade war. With end users becoming cautious about their commitment to PC resin imports, the trade war has left the market uncertain.

While PC prices are spiraling down, the price of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) in China is also falling in the face of sluggish demand. Traditionally, PC is a more expensive engineering plastic that can compete with PMMA in some applications.

As of May 23, the price of GP-grade PMMA in China was $2150 per ton CFR, down $100 from last month.

PC is widely used in automobile industry and residential industry. It is used to manufacture household appliances, household appliances and some building materials.

In recent years, with the increasing awareness of global environmental protection, halogen-free flame retardant materials have been paid more and more attention, especially high-performance halogen-free flame retardant nylon materials are being welcomed.

However, the unmodified nylon has poor flame retardancy and belongs to flammable materials, and droplets occur in the combustion process, which is easy to cause fire in the use process. Therefore, the flame retardant modification of nylon has become a common concern and key issue in academia and industry today. Later, scientists added flame retardants to nylon, which changed its flame retardancy, and the use of nylon became more extensive.

For halogen-free flame retardant nylon, the word “halogen-free” is used to mark the types of flame retardants used. Flame retardants are divided into halogen-containing flame retardants and halogen-free flame retardants. Halogen-containing flame retardants, such as bromine flame retardants, are mostly used in the early modification industry. However, since the dioxin problem appeared in 1986, brominated flame retardants began to face tremendous environmental pressures, and the controversy about brominated flame retardants has not stopped in the world.

Halogen-free flame retardants solve this problem. The halogen-free flame retardants widely used in nylon are red phosphorus and melamine salts. Red phosphorus has high flame retardant efficiency and can improve the arc resistance of products, but its storage and color limitations greatly limit its application in nylon, generally only in nylon 6. Another halogen-free flame retardant used in nylon is melamine salt, mainly melamine urate and phosphate. They have good flame retardant efficiency, but their thermal stability is poor, and their electrical properties are poor in humid environment because of their moisture absorption.

Halogen-free flame retardant nylon is added in the flame retardant content is very low or does not contain halogen group elements of bromine and chlorine. Halogen-free flame retardant nylon products have excellent flame retardant performance, flame retardant level up to UL94V0, with low precipitation, anti-dripping, high electrical performance and heat resistance, high CTI value, good electrical performance, high impact strength, environmental friendliness and environmental protection. Suitable for electrical connectors. The flame retardancy of the composites was improved by adding bromine flame retardants or halogen-free flame retardants which met the European ROHS standard. This granular nylon can withstand a processing temperature of 260 C.

In the process of using halogen-free flame retardant nylon granular materials, we sometimes encounter some labels, such as UL94V-0, UL94V-2 and so on.

Flammability UL94 is the most widely used standard for flammability of plastic materials. UL94V0 level can meet five standards and requirements: first, no sample still burns for more than 10 seconds after the test flame is removed; second, for each set of five samples, the total time of burning with the flame after 10 ignitions does not exceed 50 seconds; third, no sample burns to the fixture; fourth, no sample burns to the fixture; fourth, no sample burns melted liquid droplets ignite the following 12 “places”. Cotton; Fifth, without any sample, it continued to glow red for more than 30 seconds after the second removal of the test flame. Such a standard can completely avoid the occurrence of fire.

With the wider application of nylon engineering plastics, more and more varieties of flame retardants and the development and research of flame retardant technology, flame retardant nylon will develop in the following four directions in the coming decades:

One is the technology of compounding flame retardants. Many flame retardant manufacturers in the world are engaged in the development of new synergistic system, that is, the compounding of various flame retardants, in order to reduce the amount of flame retardant and improve the flame retardant performance, which not only reduces the price of flame retardant materials, but also reduces the loss of physical properties.

The second is non-halogenation, low toxicity and low halogenation. Many countries have banned or restricted the use of halogen-containing flame retardants, replaced by phosphorus, nitrogen-based flame retardants and inorganic flame retardants.

Third, multi-function. In some industries, nylon is required not only to have flame retardant properties, but also to have such properties as thermal conductivity, conductivity, antistatic and so on. A large number of other additives are needed to meet the user’s requirements.

Fourth, the balance of cost and performance. Developing efficient flame retardant system can reduce the influence of flame retardant on the physical properties of materials, and reduce pollution and cost.

On May 28, the ammonium nitrate commodity index was 103.51, which was the same as yesterday. It was 12.59% lower than the cycle peak of 118.42 points (2019-01-15), and 33.79% higher than the lowest point of 77.37 on October 31, 2016. (Note: Period refers to 2013-02-01 to date).

Recently, the price trend of domestic ammonium nitrate Market is temporarily stable. Affected by environmental protection control, domestic ammonium nitrate plant shuts down more, domestic ammonium nitrate plant starts less, but with the warming of the weather recently, the influence of northern air limitation disappears. In addition, due to the complete shutdown of domestic downstream civil explosion industry, domestic ammonium nitrate manufacturers have more stockpiles, and the price trend in the field declines. As of the 29th, domestic ammonium nitrate market price negotiations in 1900-2050 yuan/ton, affected by environmental protection, so now many manufacturers in many areas are forced to limit production or stop production and maintenance for environmental protection inspection, the price trend of ammonium nitrate on the site is temporarily stable.

Recently, the domestic nitric acid price has risen, up to 29 days, the market price is 1726.67 yuan/ton. The rising trend of nitric acid price has a positive impact on the ammonium nitrate market, and the price trend of ammonium nitrate is stable. The price trend of upstream raw material liquid ammonia has risen slightly. As of 29 days, the price quoted by manufacturers in the northern region is maintained in the range of 3200-3600 yuan/ton, while that in the northwest region is around 2900-3100 yuan/ton. The upward trend of raw material prices in the upstream has a positive impact on the ammonium nitrate market, and the price trend of ammonium nitrate Market is temporarily stable. At the end of the peak season of the downstream civil explosion industry recently, the demand for ammonium nitrate has weakened and the stocks of ammonium nitrate manufacturers have increased, but the liquid ammonia market is on the rise again. The ammonium nitrate Market is shaking at a low level because of the bad market. Ammonium nitrate analysts believe that the recent upstream raw material market price shocks, but the downstream demand is not good, ammonium nitrate market prices are expected to remain low in the latter part of the shocks.

In May, the prices of polyethylene in various sales links continued to fall, prices continued to fall, linear and low-pressure injection moulding appeared “7″ low price. Low prices stimulated some middlemen and downstream replenishment, the market rebounded rapidly on the 17th, turnover improved, and petrochemical stocks quickly digested. However, after replenishing the warehouse, the 22nd returned to silence, and high-end prices began to fall. Polyethylene may start a new round of decline on the 24th due to crude oil plunge and the downward trend of linear futures.

First of all, domestic maintenance devices will start one after another. Lanzhou Petrochemical PE plant is scheduled to restart on June 20; Yuneng Chemical Full Density Plant is scheduled to stop on May 8 and start at the end of May; Jilin Petrochemical Linear Plant is scheduled to stop on May 14 and restart on May 28; Maoming Petrochemical Full Density Plant is scheduled to stop on May 11 and start-up time is pending; Pucheng Clean Energy Full Density Plant is scheduled to stop on May 17 and restart around June 11. There are few new overhaul devices. There is no new overhaul device except the 450,000 tons low-voltage unit planned for July in Yan’an Energy and Chemical Industry, Shaanxi Province. Following the start-up of Jiutai energy plant, the first 350,000 tons linear plant of Zhongan Coal Chemical Company is scheduled to start in June 2019.

Secondly, demand continues to be off-season, the demand for plastic film ends, enterprises shut down mainly, individual enterprises maintain sporadic production or stage start-up, mainly functional plastic film. The demand for plastic film is light, the order follow-up is insufficient, and most enterprises have stopped or staged production. Some high-end film follow-up, mainly EVA sunlight film and PO film, some large and medium-sized enterprises maintain a small or stage production, the start-up rate generally varies from 1 to 3%. In June, all products were still in the off-season of demand, and the domestic wheat harvest season came one after another.

Thirdly, the macro-level is negative. Internationally, the conflict of trade wars persists. The market is worried about the negative impact of trade wars on economic growth and the growth rate of global demand. From the perspective of crude oil supply and demand pattern, Iran, Venezuela and OPEC cut-off agreements affect the supply of crude oil, while OECD lowered the growth expectation of crude oil demand, there are uncertainties in the supply and demand side of crude oil, and crude oil maintains a short-term oscillation pattern.

Domestic side: Facing the escalation of trade war, the domestic government has raised counter-cyclical adjustment to cushion the downward pressure of the economy; domestic monetary policy and fiscal policy actively release positive news, increase support for infrastructure and consumer side, which is conducive to smoothing the change of demand side.

Overall, although the market is concerned about the global economic downturn and obvious changes in demand side, a series of domestic policies have been issued to hedge the impact of peripheral markets. Overall, there are certain uncertainties in macro-level, and the emotional impact on commodities is slightly neutral.