This week, the epoxy chloropropane market continued its downward trend. According to the monitoring and analysis system of Shengyi Society, as of June 12th, the benchmark price of Shengyi Society’s epichlorohydrin was 9300.00 yuan/ton, a decrease of -4.12% compared to the beginning of this month (9700.00 yuan/ton).
Price influencing factors:
On the raw material side, the external price of glycerol remains high and strong, while domestic demand is weak, resulting in a slight decrease in its focus. However, the cost of glycerol based epichlorohydrin is still under high pressure. The market price of raw material propylene has slightly decreased, and the cost support is still insufficient. According to the market analysis system of Shengyi Society, as of June 12th, the benchmark price of propylene in Shengyi Society was 6513.25 yuan/ton, a decrease of 0.38% compared to the beginning of this month (6538.25 yuan/ton).
Supply side: The average production capacity utilization rate of propylene based epichlorohydrin is 90% or above, and production is currently active; Due to the significant losses incurred by the company, the capacity utilization rate of glycerol method is only around 40%. Overall, the supply of epichlorohydrin is relatively sufficient.
Downstream demand side: The demand for epoxy resin in the downstream market has weakened, with sluggish actual order transactions and a capacity utilization rate of over 50%. Overall, downstream demand is average, and the market has a strong wait-and-see attitude.
Market forecast: Analysts from Shengyi Society believe that the cost side support is insufficient, downstream demand is weak, the purchasing mentality is not positive, and the actual trading atmosphere in the market is cold. It is expected that the market for epichlorohydrin in the short term will maintain a stable to weak trend, and more attention still needs to be paid to changes in raw material prices and market supply and demand.