chemicals news

Insufficient demand, cyclohexane market price center is relatively low

lubon — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 01:10:39 +0000

1、 Price trend
As of May 30th, the average price of high-quality industrial grade cyclohexane in China is 7416 yuan/ton. Currently, cyclohexane is mainly operating in a narrow range, and weak demand is suppressing its upward trend.
2、 Market analysis
On the supply side, the low sulfur main coking coal production area has a stable high price of 1850 yuan/ton, and the coking plant’s profit per ton of coke processing is only 21 yuan, close to the loss line. The willingness of coke enterprises to actively reduce prices and ship goods is extremely low, and there is a cost floor below the spot price. The traditional off-season negative feedback expectation of steel is heating up, and steel plants continue to resist high priced raw materials, limiting the further upward space of coke spot prices. After multiple rounds of price increases, there is no expectation of a new round of price increases.
In terms of cost: Upstream pure benzene has been weakly consolidated this week, with weakened cost support and reduced production profits for manufacturers. There is a lack of motivation to raise prices, and high priced sources have continued to decline in the early stages.
Market mentality: This week, the market fell first and then stabilized. Traders mainly focused on destocking, while downstream traders watched and waited for lower prices. Trading on the market was light, with most transactions being small orders for immediate needs and no large orders being made.
3、 Future forecast
Analysts believe that with sufficient supply, off-season demand, and no significant rebound in costs, the short-term volatility of cyclohexane is weak, and there is insufficient momentum for a significant increase; If pure benzene stops falling and stabilizes, spot prices may maintain a sideways consolidation in the current range of 6000-6900.

http://www.polyvinylalcohols.com

Nitrile rubber market is weak and declining

lubon — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 01:46:21 +0000

In June 2026, the domestic nitrile rubber market fluctuated and weakened, with a significant shift in price focus. The market bid farewell to the hype in the first half of the year and returned to the fundamentals of supply and demand. Overall transactions were light, and there was a strong wait-and-see atmosphere. As of June 29th, the price was 16150 yuan/ton, a decrease of 15.00% from 22175 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month. As of June 29th, Lanhua Nitrile N41E in East China offered a price range of 15200 to 15700 yuan/ton; Southern Emperor 1052 mainstream price ranges from 17000 to 17500 yuan/ton.
The price of raw material butadiene has decreased, while the price of acrylonitrile has slightly adjusted. As of June 29th, the price of butadiene was 8866 yuan/ton, a decrease of 24.86% from 11800 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month; As of June 29th, the price of acrylonitrile was 10133 yuan/ton, unchanged from the beginning of the month. The easing of the situation in the Middle East has driven the comprehensive resumption of overseas cracking units, and the domestic butadiene port inventory has risen to a high of 38500 tons, weakening the overall cost support.
In June, the average operating rate of domestic nitrile enterprises remained at a high level of 72% -76%. Main facilities such as Lanhua and Ningbo were operating at full capacity, and coupled with the concentration of high priced imported goods in the port in the early stage, the market circulation of goods was abundant, and spot supply continued to be loose.
In June, the production of new energy vehicles remained stable, driving the urgent procurement of medium and high acrylonitrile NBR and HNBR, and stabilizing orders for head sealing factories; The demand for universal NBR for traditional fuel vehicles continues to weaken, and small and medium-sized auto parts factories have a weak willingness to purchase and replenish inventory as needed. The nitrile glove industry maintains a production rate of around 58%, mainly focused on digesting inventory. The general industrial sealing and hydraulic hose industry is dragged down by the off-season of the manufacturing industry. The incremental release of high-end sealing for energy storage and semiconductors is steadily increasing, but the limited volume makes it difficult to offset the weakness of general adhesives. Against the backdrop of falling raw material prices, downstream demand is mainly focused on acquiring goods for essential needs, with less active hoarding and overall weak demand.
As of May 20th, the nitrile rubber spread index showed a trend from strong to weak since mid April, and continued to weaken after falling below the 0 axis. Although it briefly recovered in early May, it turned downwards again in mid May, and the current negative direction has expanded, restarting the downward trend. Combining supply and demand with cost, raw material support has weakened, demand recovery is weak, and the market is in a weakly balanced pattern. Short term prices are prone to decline but difficult to rise, with the center of gravity shifting downwards in the medium term and operating under pressure throughout the year.
From mid March to early April 2026, nitrile rubber was boosted by rising raw material prices and tight supply, resulting in a bullish price average. In mid April, a turning point appeared in the market, and the price of nitrile rubber continued to decline in a stepped manner. The price was under long-term pressure below the 10 and 20 day moving averages, and the bearish trend was clear. The short-term 10 day and 20 day moving averages are simultaneously moving downwards, forming a strong pressure level. Without significant bullish factors, it is difficult for prices to rebound and stabilize at the 10 day moving average, and there is still room for downward pressure; The medium-term moving average shows no signs of turning, and the trend is difficult to quickly reverse.

Overall, the market in July and August will continue its weak and volatile trend during the off-season. The annual maintenance of Lanzhou Petrochemical’s main equipment in mid July will bring about a temporary contraction of supply, which can effectively support the bottom rubber price and limit the potential for deep decline. However, weak demand during the off-season will still suppress the rebound height. The traditional peak season of September and October is approaching, and downstream product companies are preparing for production and sales in the fourth quarter. With the release of centralized replenishment demand and the mild recovery of raw material prices, the price of nitrile rubber is expected to rebound slightly, and the price range will shift upward.

http://www.polyvinylalcohols.com

The market for maleic anhydride has continued to decline this week

lubon — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 01:13:29 +0000

This week, the domestic maleic anhydride market continued to decline, with an average market price of 7600 yuan/ton as of June 26, a decrease of 1.3% from 7700 yuan/ton on June 22.
Supply side: Recently, the concentrated resumption of production of maleic anhydride units has increased market supply, coupled with insufficient downstream orders and hindered shipments, resulting in a continuous decline in prices for the main maleic anhydride factories. As of June 26th, the solid anhydride market in Shandong Province operates around a factory price of 6300-6600 yuan/ton, while the liquid anhydride market operates around a factory price of 6100-6300 yuan/ton.
Upstream: The n-butane market fell sharply in mid June, and the domestic n-butane price rose slightly to 5450 yuan/ton this week. The CP price in Saudi Arabia in June was 820 US dollars per ton, an increase of 20 US dollars per ton compared to the previous month.
Downstream: This week, the domestic unsaturated resin market saw weak consolidation, while upstream styrene and maleic anhydride continued to decline, dragging down costs. The downstream fiberglass and building materials industries entered the traditional off-season of high temperatures, with insufficient terminal production. The short-term market still maintains a weak and narrow range of fluctuations.
The analyst of Shengyi Society’s maleic anhydride products believes that the operating rate of the downstream unsaturated resin industry on the demand side is difficult to significantly increase in the short term, and the raw material prices on the cost side are weak. The production cost support for maleic anhydride is weak, and coupled with the recent concentrated resumption of maleic anhydride production, the market supply has increased. In the short term, the domestic maleic anhydride market will still remain weak.

http://www.polyvinylalcohols.com

The price of butadiene rubber has fallen back to pre conflict levels in the Middle East

lubon — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 01:23:14 +0000

Recently, the domestic market price of butadiene rubber has continued to decline. According to data from Shengyi Society, as of June 26, the price of butadiene rubber in East China was 12830 yuan/ton, a decrease of 1.38% from 13010 yuan/ton at the end of February; The closing price of the main contract for Shunding rubber futures fell to 11810 yuan/ton. We have completely reversed all the gains caused by the Middle East geopolitical conflict and returned to the benchmark range before the conflict broke out.
With the comprehensive cooling of tensions in the Middle East, the geopolitical speculation logic of commodities has completely disintegrated. International crude oil prices have fluctuated and weakened, directly driving down the price of butadiene. Data shows that the current butadiene port inventory remains at a high level of 38500 tons, with a slight increase of 2.39% month on month. With sufficient raw material supply and downward pressure on prices, the production cost center of the butadiene rubber industry continues to move downwards, providing solid cost support for the continuous decline in rubber prices. According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, as of June 26th, the price of butadiene was 8900 yuan/ton, a decrease of 10.94% from 9993 yuan/ton at the end of February.
The pressure on the supply and demand side of butadiene rubber has further accelerated the price decline. Recently, the production profit of the domestic butadiene rubber industry has slightly recovered, and the production enthusiasm of enterprises has increased. The equipment production has steadily rebounded, and the latest industry capacity utilization rate has risen to 69.26%. The market supply of goods continues to increase.
At present, the downstream is in the traditional off-season of the tire industry, and the operating rate of terminal tire enterprises has slightly decreased. Downstream enterprises generally adopt a cautious strategy of on-demand procurement and on-demand procurement, with weak demand for goods and difficulty in digesting sufficient market supply. As of June 18th, the construction of semi steel tires by domestic tire companies has reached around 6.90%; The construction of all steel tires by tire companies in Shandong region has reached about 6.60%.
Market forecast:
After the death cross of the moving average in early April 2026, it entered a long-term downward channel, with a continuous bearish alignment on both lines and a significant drop in prices. The current bearish trend of the moving average remains unchanged.
Overall, the current market price, cost, and supply and demand data of butadiene rubber have returned to the fundamental level before the Middle East conflict, and the market trading sentiment is generally cautious. In the short term, the geopolitical benefits have been completely exhausted, and there is still room for decline in the raw material butadiene. Coupled with the continued pattern of high industry production and weak downstream demand during the off-season, rubber prices are likely to maintain a weak and volatile trend.

http://www.polyvinylalcohols.com

Negative concentrated release, polyethylene continues to be under pressure

lubon — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:14:04 +0000

Recently, the polyethylene market has been under pressure and declining. LLDPE (7042) had an average price of 7806 yuan/ton on June 19th and 7541 yuan/ton on June 24th, a decrease of 3.39%. LDPE (2426H) had an average price of 9650 yuan/ton on June 19th and 9133 yuan/ton on June 24th, a decrease of 5.35%. The average price of HDPE (5000S) on June 19th was 10062 yuan/ton, and on June 24th it was 9782 yuan/ton, a decrease of 2.78%.
Cost side: Raw materials continue to decline. The geopolitical premium has subsided, international crude oil has fallen sharply, the cost center of polyethylene production continues to move downwards, and the ex factory price of petrochemicals and traders have continuously lowered, directly driving the overall decline of spot prices.
Supply side: Overall supply is loose, with only localized structural tightness. Imported goods are concentrated at the port, while external goods continue to flow into the domestic market. Domestic early-stage maintenance equipment has resumed production in a concentrated manner, and the overall operating rate of the industry has steadily rebounded. The overall supply of goods has increased more than decreased, and only some equipment has undergone long-term maintenance, resulting in a local structural shortage of goods, which only slightly alleviates the decline.
Demand side: Traditional off-season in the industry. The production of agricultural film and plastic film has ended, and the autumn greenhouse film has not yet started. The downstream of packaging, injection molding, and pipe materials have entered the off-season synchronously. Downstream order follow-up is weak, adopting a “buy as you go” approach, resulting in a lack of buying opportunities in the market.
Due to the off-season demand, weak support for crude oil costs, and overall loose supply of goods, polyethylene maintains a weak and volatile pattern. The short-term decline rate has slowed down, but it is difficult to see a trend reversal, and the rebound space is limited.

http://www.polyvinylalcohols.com