After the holiday, the price of epoxy propane in China increased slightly. According to the monitoring system of Shengyi Society, as of October 10th, the benchmark price of Shengyi Society’s epoxy propane was 7866.67 yuan/ton, an increase of 1.29% compared to October 1st.
Price influencing factors:
Raw material side: The raw material propylene shows a trend of “first suppression and then rise” before and after the double festival. In the early stage of the Double Festival, the restart of the PDH unit led to an increase in supply, and the price of propylene fell under pressure; Subsequently, Hebei and Lihua Yi stopped production, and the contraction of supply pushed prices to rebound. Returning to the market after the holiday, the equipment maintenance plan and downstream external procurement demand support the continuous upward push of the offer. As of October 10th, the benchmark price of propylene in Shengyi Society was 6588.25 yuan/ton, an increase of 0.69% compared to the beginning of this month (6543.25 yuan/ton). The rise in raw material propylene prices has provided some support to the epoxy propane market.
Supply side: The epoxy propane supply side will tighten after the holiday. The suspension of sales by Lihua Yiwei Yuan and the maintenance of the main factory in Shandong have reduced the circulation of spot goods, and the low inventory of manufacturers has driven up the price of epoxy propane. In the later stage, attention should be paid to the maintenance and recovery situation of major manufacturers, as well as the inventory digestion rhythm of Qixiangda and the progress of Wanhua’s fourth phase new production capacity deployment. It is expected that the price of epoxy propane will rise but not fall in the near future.
Demand side: Downstream polyether enterprises are holding onto their essential procurement needs in multiple dimensions after the holiday, with a strong wait-and-see attitude. The load adjustment of the polyether end is limited, while the propylene glycol enterprise is increasing its load, and the overall demand performance is flat.
Market forecast:
Business Society’s epoxy propane analyst believes that the main reason for the rebound in epoxy propane prices is the suspension of sales by Lihua Yiwei Yuan and the tightening of supply caused by the maintenance of the main factory in Shandong. There is also some support in raw material prices, but downstream polyether rigid demand procurement is the main focus, and there is a strong wait-and-see sentiment. It is expected that the epoxy propane market will be prone to rise but difficult to fall in the later stage, and more attention should be paid to changes in raw material prices and market supply and demand.