Domestic demand for styrene is very strong. From 2006 to 2018, China’s export of styrene is very small and its dependence on imports is high. In 2006, China’s import of styrene was 2.343 million tons, and then gradually increased. By 2015, the import of styrene reached a peak of 3.744 million tons, and in 2018, the import dropped sharply to 2.914 million tons, mainly due to the rapid release of new domestic production capacity.

Before 2006, due to the serious shortage of domestic styrene supply and demand, the import dependence was high, and in 2004 the import dependence was as high as 75%. In 2006, with the release of new domestic production capacity of styrene, domestic import dependence of styrene decreased from 65% in 2005 to 52% in 2006. From 2007 to 2009, the output growth of SM’s main downstream products was faster than that of SM, and most of the new production capacity in 2009 was concentrated in the second half of the year. Although some of the devices were built, they were not formally put into operation, so the import dependence rebounded from 2006 for three consecutive years. From 2010 to 2018, with the expansion of large-scale units in domestic enterprises and the commissioning of a number of new units, the dependence of domestic styrene imports has decreased year by year.

From the monthly import volume of styrene in China, the monthly import volume is relatively balanced, and the monthly import volume remains between 240,000 tons and 310,000 tons, with no seasonal change. Moreover, such a balanced amount of imports shows that the market is very mature, and domestic demand should mainly be based on long-term orders, and domestic recipients have a high acceptance of international market prices, indicating that domestic demand for styrene is mainly hard demand and speculative is not high.

In terms of import and export trade modes, styrene import trade has continued to diversify in recent years, in which the general trade mode occupies the mainstream position. According to the statistical data of 2018, the general trade volume is 2474,000 tons, accounting for 84.9%; the second is the import processing trade, accounting for 219,000 tons, accounting for 7.5%; the third is the bonded regulatory field. The trade volume of import and export goods is 145,000 tons, accounting for 5.0%. From 2014 to 2016, the proportion of general trade modes increased gradually, while the foreign processing trade showed a shrinking trend, which was related to the overall market pattern of domestic demand and export constraints. In 2018, the import volume declined, the proportion of general trade declined, and the foreign processing trade increased, mainly due to the gradual release of domestic capacity, the further decline of import volume and the stimulation of the development of foreign processing trade.

Because of strong market demand and huge market gap, China has provided digestive space for the excess styrene capacity in the world. Many developed countries or regions of petrochemical industry have put their products into our market one after another. China imports styrene mainly from Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iran, the United States, Singapore and other places. In 2018, due to the imposition of anti-dumping duties on styrene originating in Korea, the United States and Taiwan Province of China, Korea lost its long-standing position as the first exporter of styrene to China. In 2018, the top three countries and regions in the import volume of styrene were Saudi Arabia, Japan and Taiwan Province of China.

In 2008, the top three sources of domestic styrene imports were Korea, Japan and Taiwan Province of China, which accounted for 86% of the total imports of styrene. Starting from 2009, new production units in the Middle East quickly seized market share by virtue of their rich petrochemical resources and low cost advantages. From 2009 to 2012, the proportion of goods in the Middle East increased year by year, and the market share of Japanese and Korean goods was gradually squeezed. Since 2012, Saudi Arabia has imported more styrene than Japan, ranking second. In 2018, there were 761,000 tons of styrene from Saudi Arabia, which became the largest source of styrene imports in China.

In recent years, due to the strong demand of polyester industry, the demand for ethylene glycol in the domestic market has maintained a rapid growth trend, thus promoting the increase of ethylene glycol production capacity. In recent years, many large-scale ethylene glycol production plants have been built and put into operation in China. With the continuous increase of ethylene glycol production capacity in China, the output is also increasing.

Although the production capacity and output of ethylene glycol in China have increased rapidly, it still can not meet the growing market demand of domestic polyester and so on. A large number of imports are needed every year, and the import volume is increasing year by year. At present, China’s ethylene glycol products are mainly used in the production of polyester, antifreeze liquid and adhesives, paint solvents, cold-resistant lubricants, surfactants and polyester polyols. Among them, polyester is the main consumption area of ethylene glycol in China, and its consumption accounts for 94.0% of the total domestic consumption. The other 6.0% is used for antifreeze, adhesives, paint solvents, cold-resistant lubricants, surfactants and polyester polyols.

In recent years, the production of polyester (including polyester fiber, polyester resin and film) has developed rapidly in China. In 2010, the production of polyester will reach 19 million tons, and the demand for ethylene glycol will reach 6.65 million tons. With the consumption of antifreeze and other aspects, it is expected that the total demand for ethylene glycol in China will continue to grow at a high speed.

The capacity of domestic ethylene plant is about 6.46 million tons, and the start-up rate of the plant is 70.4%, which is 1.8 percentage points lower than the end of August and 1.6 percentage points lower than the same period last year. The capacity of the coal-based ethylene glycol plant is about 4.47 million tons, and the start-up rate of the plant is 51.6%, which is 1.8 percentage points higher than that at the end of August.

On the whole, the domestic ethylene glycol production enterprises are showing losses in varying degrees, the start-up rate of ethylene plant is declining, and the start-up rate of coal-based ethylene glycol plant is reduced to 50%.

According to the data released by the General Administration of Customs, the import volume of ethylene glycol dropped sharply in June, and the average price of ethylene glycol also decreased, showing weak demand as a whole.

As for port inventory, data show that as of July 29, the inventory of ethylene glycol ports in eastern China was about 921.5 million tons, down 218,000 tons from the end of last month, a 19% annualized decline, and an increase of 48% over the same period last year. Among them, Zhangjiagang’s inventory was 6605 tons, down 17,000 tons from the end of last month, an increase of 2%; Taiyuan’s inventory was 93,000 tons, down 40,000 tons from last month; Ningbo’s inventory was 87,000 tons, down 0.1 million tons from last month; Jiangyin’s inventory was 20,000 tons, down 38,000 tons from last month; Shanghai and Changshu’s inventory was 91,000 tons, down 36,000 tons from last month. Tons.

In summary, the domestic ethylene glycol production enterprises show losses, the start-up rate of ethylene plant has fallen, the start-up rate of coal-based ethylene glycol plant has dropped to about 50%, and the domestic supply has been reduced. The stock of ethylene glycol port in East China is about 921,500 tons, and the stock keeps decreasing. Downstream polyester start-up high drop, weaving enterprises also began to decline, polyester and grey fabric inventory at a high level, facing the pressure of de-inventory, polyester production and marketing at the beginning of the month is relatively cold, to the end of the month production and marketing gradually warmed up. Ethylene glycol futures prices gradually rebounded after bottoming in the middle of the month, and are expected to enter a strong trend until the early downstream inventory is digested. The operational strategies are as follows:

Transaction contract: Ethylene glycol 2001.

Trading Direction: Buy.

It is planned to enter the venue in two batches, occupying 40%-60% of the total capital and buying 500-600 hands.

First entry interval: 4620 – 4680 yuan / ton, target price: 4720 – 5480 yuan / ton.

Stop loss price: 4320-4580 yuan/ton, entry position 300-400 hands, occupying 30-40% of capital.

Risk factors requiring attention:

1. Port stocks have increased substantially.

2. Demand for polyester decreased more than expected.

3. The macro atmosphere is tense.

Price Trend

According to the monitoring data of business associations, the domestic butanone market has been increasing rapidly for several days since the beginning of last week (September 2). As of Friday (September 6), according to the comprehensive quotation of several mainstream regions, the overall average price of butanone market is around 7,900 yuan/ton, up about 1,200 yuan/ton from the end of August (August 30). The proportion was 17.82%.

II. Market Analysis

Products: The quotations of several butanone companies have risen since the end of August. Since September 2, the price has been rising steadily. The price has been soaring all the time. The daily increase is 300-400 yuan/ton. Until September 6, the butanone market is still in a strong upward trend. At present, the supply of factories is tight and the stock is not serious. Full, the overall inventory of traders is very low, sales sentiment is obvious, tight spot makes the market warming up this week, turnover has improved. At present, the market quotation of South China is around 8200-8400 yuan/ton, while that of North China and East China is around 8300 yuan/ton.

Industry chain: The price of upstream raw material liquefied gas has remained stable this week, with some areas rising slightly. At present, the market price of liquefied gas in North China is stable, and the mainstream price is around 3500-3600 yuan/ton. The price of liquefied petroleum gas in eastern China has risen, with the mainstream price between 3400 and 3450 yuan/ton, and the market turnover is normal.

Industry: According to the price monitoring of business associations, there are 21 kinds of commodities rising in the list of 58 prices on September 5, 2019. They are concentrated in steel plate (5 kinds) and non-ferrous plate (4 kinds). The top three commodities are WTI crude oil (4.30%), eggs (2.73%) and iron ore (Australia) (2.67%). There were 8 kinds of commodities falling in the ring ratio, focusing on non-ferrous (4 kinds in total) and agricultural and sideline (1 kind in total). The first three commodities falling were nickel (-2.07%), coking coal (-1.36%) and soybean meal (-1.16%). On September 5th, the average increase and decrease was 0.28%.

3. Future Market Forecast

Business society data analysts believe that under the serious shortage of spot, the butanone market is expected to be in a stable and strong consolidation state next week.

Price Trend

According to the monitoring data of business associations, the stable operation of soda ash this week is dominant. The average market price of East China during the week to the weekend was about 1733.33 yuan/ton, up 6.66 yuan/ton from last week, up 0.39%, down 18.37% from last year. The light soda commodity index on September 6 was 88.89, which was the same as yesterday. It was 24.58% lower than the cyclical peak of 117.86 points (2017-11-21), and 40.76% higher than the lowest point of 63.15 on November 18, 2015. (Note: Period refers to 2011-09-01 to date)

II. Market Analysis

Products: This week, the domestic soda price maintained stable operation, the market was weak and stable, the manufacturers’orders were sufficient. At present, the domestic light alkali mainstream ex-factory price was 1580-1770 yuan/ton; the domestic heavy alkali mainstream to the terminal price was 1750-1850 yuan/ton. This week, the heavy alkali market did not change much, the manufacturers’ shipment situation was relatively smooth, and the market stock was bullish. It is anticipated that manufacturers will implement more end-of-month pricing.

Industry chain: the downstream cryolite plant is running normally at present, the factory stock is sufficient and pressure-free, the ex-factory quotation is temporarily stable; the price of sodium pyrosulfite continues to run at the bottom this week, the overall market is still depressed, the cost of raw materials continues to depress, the upstream and downstream trading entities are cautious in buying and selling as a whole, and the downstream trading entities are watching. Attitude is strong, domestic sodium pyrosulfite market prices continued to operate at a low level this week. This week, the downstream glass industry will welcome gold, silver and silver. Enterprises have a high enthusiasm for production. The glass market enters the traditional peak season, with a steady upward trend and a slight price increase. It is expected that in the traditional peak season, there is still a possibility of partial upward adjustment, with limited space.

Industry: This week, the domestic soda market reorganizes and operates mainly. The manufacturers of soda plant maintenance have decreased, the starting load has increased, the overall market turnover is mild, the demand for heavy soda is relatively weak and stable, which has brought some support to soda price. In addition, the current stock of enterprises is not high, and some low-end price transactions have increased.

3. Future Market Forecast

Business analysts believe that: this week, the domestic light alkali market has been running steadily, the number of maintenance manufacturers has decreased, the supply of enterprises is relatively stable, and the delivery situation is weak and stable. It is expected that the soda market or narrow-band consolidation will dominate in the short term, depending on the downstream market demand.

Price Trend

According to commodity data monitoring, the price of Yungui yellow phosphorus rose this week. The average price of yellow phosphorus on September 1 was 15933.33 yuan/ton, and on September 7 was 18600 yuan/ton. Within a week, the price rose by 16.74%.

On September 7, the yellow phosphorus commodity index was 117.72, up 5.27 points from yesterday, down 27.06% from the cyclical peak of 161.39 points (2019-07-28), and up 30.83% from the lowest point of 89.98 on September 05, 2018. (Note: Period refers to 2011-09-01 to date)

II. Market Analysis

Products: Yellow phosphorus prices have returned to a high level this week, and the spot market of yellow phosphorus is very tight. At present, yellow phosphorus enterprises in Guizhou have stopped production in an all-round way, while some enterprises in Yunnan and Sichuan have stopped quoting, and the contract is the main one. Yellow phosphorus Market Spot tension, strong wait-and-see sentiment of enterprises, the focus continued to move upwards. At present, the mainstream quotation of yellow phosphorus in Yunnan is 18,000-20,000 yuan/ton. The mainstream quotation in Sichuan is about 17800 yuan/ton.

Industry Chain: This week, the phosphate ore market continued to be weak and stable, and intra-site transactions remained light and normal. This week, coke prices were stable, and the mainstream price of Panzhihua coke (secondary metallurgical coke) market was 2,080 yuan per ton. The price of phosphoric acid in the downstream market rose as a whole this week. The peak season of downstream pesticide enterprises is coming.

The index of yellow phosphorus industry chain on September 7 was 104.27, up 1.78 points from yesterday, down 16.09% from 124.27 points in the cycle (2019-07-24) and 30.84% from 79.69 points on October 7, 2018. (Note: Period refers to 2011-12-01 to date)

3. Future Market Forecast

Yellow phosphorus analysts from the business and chemical branch believe that the yellow phosphorus market is short of cash, the start-up rate is low everywhere, downstream demand is on the upward trend, the market is well supported, and the price is expected to remain narrow and upward in the short term.

Price Trend

According to the data from the business associations’list, the domestic caprolactam market price dropped this month. The average ex-factory price of caprolactam was 12983 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month and 12003 yuan/ton at the end of the month, a decrease of 7.32%.

II. Market Analysis

Products: At the beginning of the month, the price of caprolactam liquids market dropped sharply. From mid-month to the end of the month, the price of caprolactam liquids began to fluctuate. The mainstream price of domestic liquid caprolactam market is RMB 1210-12300 per ton. As of August 31, the price of caprolactam liquids in Shandong Luxi Chemical Industry was 11600 yuan/ton, cash was discharged from the factory, and the first and second phases of caprolactam liquids were running normally; the actual transaction was negotiable; the price of caprolactam liquids in Sanning, Hubei Province was 12,200 yuan/ton, the contract was the main one, 140,000 tons of caprolactam liquids normally, and the price of caprolactam liquids in Tianchen, Fujian 00 yuan/ton, normal operation of the device. At present, the opening rate of caprolactam plant is stable, and the spot supply in the market is still acceptable.

Industry chain: The upstream market of cyclohexanone first fell and then rose in August. According to the sample data monitored by business associations, the price of cyclohexanone was 8333 yuan/ton at the beginning of the month, 8133 yuan/ton at the end of the month, with a decrease of 2.40% in the month. Prices fell 34.13% over the same period last year. During the month, Luxi and Haili cyclohexanone export is unstable, spot supply is not much, chemical fiber market demand is general, cyclohexanone fluctuates in the range of 500 yuan/ton. The downstream PA6 market is weak and prices are falling. Traders’mainstream offer price of 2.75-2.85 for Sino-Viscose is about 13650.00 yuan/ton, which is 2.50% lower than that at the beginning of the month. Domestic PA6 spot supply is relatively adequate, downstream demand follow-up improvement is limited, maintain just needed procurement. In the mid-term, the US news of the postponement of the release of China’s tariff policy was positive. Domestic business confidence improved and the decline of PA6 eased. However, high-price orders were still difficult to deliver, traders had greater resistance to shipment, and buyers and sellers were cautious in their operation.

Industry: According to the price monitoring of business associations, in August 2019, there were 37 commodities rising annually in the chemical sector, of which 15 commodities increased by more than 5%, accounting for 17.9% of the monitored commodities in the sector; the first three commodities were hydrogen peroxide (39.93%), acetic acid (20.90%) and butadiene (14.47%). There are 39 kinds of products with a decline of more than 5%, accounting for 15.5% of the monitored products in this sector. The products with the first three declines are yellow phosphorus (-27.58%), epichlorohydrin (-23.28%) and sulfur (-19.38%). This month’s average rise and fall was 0.03%.

3. Future Market Forecast

The analyst of caprolactam of business association thinks: At present, the caprolactam market is affected by terminal, and the overall situation is weak. The demand for caprolactam is hampered by the rising price of raw materials in the upstream, insufficient follow-up in the downstream and weak market. It is expected that the price of caprolactam will be adjusted weakly in the future.

Price Trend

According to the monitoring data of business associations, the market price of ammonium sulfate dropped this month. The average price of domestic ammonium sulfate at the beginning of this month was 660 yuan/ton, and the average price of ammonium sulfate at the end of this month was 630 yuan/ton, down by 4.55%.

II. Market Analysis

Products: At present, the mainstream of ammonium sulphate in Shandong is quoted 550-680 yuan/ton, the mainstream of ammonium sulphate in Northeast is quoted 650 yuan/ton, the mainstream of ammonium sulphate in Henan is quoted 600-700 yuan/ton, the mainstream of ammonium sulphate in Hebei is quoted 600-660 yuan/ton, and the mainstream of ammonium sulphate in Shanxi is quoted 550-650 yuan/ton. The price of ammonium sulfate in East China is about 670 yuan per ton. This month, domestic coking grade ammonium sulfate has been steadily downward, with weak demand support. The internal level operates steadily.

Industry chain: In August 2019, the price of sulphuric acid Market in Shandong fell sharply. The quotation fell from 225.00 yuan/ton on August 1 to 215.00 yuan/ton on August 31, falling by 10 yuan/ton, or 4.44%. Overall, the sulfuric acid Market in Shandong fell in August, 53.01% year-on-year, and the sulfuric acid commodity index was 35.80 on August 31. The downstream compound fertilizer enterprise market is not warm and the goods are not ideal. In August, the overall fertilizer preparation situation was not good, and the market continued to be depressed.

Industry: According to the price monitoring of business associations, in August 2019, there were 37 commodities rising annually in the chemical sector, of which 15 commodities increased by more than 5%, accounting for 17.9% of the monitored commodities in the sector; the first three commodities were hydrogen peroxide (39.93%), acetic acid (20.90%) and butadiene (14.47%). There are 39 kinds of products with a decline of more than 5%, accounting for 15.5% of the monitored products in this sector. The products with the first three declines are yellow phosphorus (-27.58%), epichlorohydrin (-23.28%) and sulfur (-19.38%). This month’s average rise and fall was 0.03%.

3. Future Market Forecast

Ammonium sulfate analysts of business associations believe that the overall situation of domestic ammonium sulfate Market is not good, the market is weak, the autumn fertilizer market is cold, and the downstream demand is insufficient. It is expected that ammonium sulfate Market will continue to weaken in the later period.

The re-production of ethylene glycol plant and the warming of import profits make it possible to adjust the existing prices in a certain direction. The prudent purchasing in downstream polyester industry makes it difficult to strengthen spot prices. Overall, ethylene glycol will show a weak trend of operation in the near future.

Ethylene glycol supply or recovery

From the plant point of view, compared with the first half of the year, the overall load of domestic ethylene glycol plant has returned to a reasonable range, and the current overall load of the plant is around 65%. Among them, the coal-based ethylene glycol plant returned to about 60% in the second quarter, and there was no obvious adjustment; the oil-based ethylene glycol plant did not reproduce the sharp upward trend in the same period in 2018, but remained stable at about 70%. After the recent overhaul of the device, some devices will be restarted in September, which will have a certain impact on the overall supply of the market.

On the import level, the import volume of ethylene glycol in July was 810,000 tons, up 14.09% year on year; from January to July this year, the cumulative import volume of ethylene glycol was 5.8 million tons, down 0.25% year on year. Considering the frequent typhoons in South China in recent years, the import of ethylene glycol will be affected to a certain extent, and the shipping efficiency will be reduced. At present, the total inventory of ethylene glycol in East China is 813,800 tons, which is at the normal level in the same period in previous years from the absolute quantity point of view. Inventory driving is not obvious, but from the point of view of import price difference, with the rise of the price of ethylene glycol, the import price gap continues to warm up. Later, if the influence of typhoon factors weakens, upward pressure on the price of ethylene glycol will gather rapidly, and the price recovery of ethylene glycol will end.

It is difficult for downstream demand to improve fundamentally

With the expected improvement in the supply of ethylene glycol, the downstream polyester and terminal apparel textiles have not improved. Although the stock of terminal grey fabric has declined to some extent, the stock scale is still on the high side of the same period in previous years. From the feedback of the downstream survey, the production orders of foreign trade apparel enterprises are still relatively limited, the available storage capacity of many material warehouses is very low, and the accumulation of raw materials is serious. In the context of Sino-US trade frictions, many manufacturers’expectations for the future are declining. The persistence of terminal recession also makes polyester enterprises very cautious about raw material purchasing and equipment load adjustment.

After a capacity expansion cycle in 2018, the current capacity of polyester is 56 million tons. In the first half of 2019, the capacity of polyester plant increased by 1.23 million tons per year. In the second half of the year, the production capacity of polyester plant is expected to increase by 3.45 million tons per year, and the actual production capacity is about 2.95 million tons per year. Among them, 1.25 million tons per year were put into operation in the third quarter and 1.7 million tons per year in the fourth quarter. In the first half of 2019, the output of polyester increased rapidly, with the total output of 24 million tons from January to June, an increase of 8.4% over the same period last year. The overall cash flow of polyester has been greatly reduced, and the profit differentiation of products is not obvious. With the decline of the policy effect of the “ban on abolition”, the profit of bottle flakes declined sharply, and the profit of filament decreased slightly compared with last year. It is expected that the polyester load will continue to adjust and the growth rate of ethylene glycol demand will continue to decline in the following time.

Summary and Reflection

On the cost side, crude oil prices are easy to fall and difficult to rise, which makes the support below the price of ethylene glycol not strong. In addition, the re-production of ethylene glycol plant and the recovery of import profits make the existing prices have a certain adjustment space. At present, ethylene glycol inventory is at a neutral level, and prudent purchasing in downstream polyester industry makes it difficult to strengthen spot prices. Overall, ethylene glycol will show a weak trend of operation in the near future.

Price Trend

In August 2019, the ethanol market was relatively stable. The monitoring by business associations showed that the price of ethanol at the end of the month was 5380 yuan/ton, which was 3.26% lower than that of the same period last year.

II. Analysis of Influencing Factors

Products: In July, the domestic ethanol market performance was relatively stable. Enterprises in Northeast China were actively releasing goods. Market transaction prices were basically near the cost line. At the beginning of the month, centralized purchasing was carried out in the lower reaches. It was felt that after centralized purchasing in the lower reaches, the market price should be raised. However, the market performance was not as expected, and the market did not rise against expectation. The decline is mainly due to the fact that the inventory of enterprises has not reached a low level. Some enterprises’shipment mentality has actively led to the bursting of low-price goods in the market, the poor delivery of high-end goods, the continuing decline of low-end market prices. In mid-July, Northeast China entered the overhaul season, and large factories entered the overhaul successively. Driven by the good overhaul, the market has not risen. After the end of this month, some enterprises started their installations, which were supported by a small increase in the market due to the large number of contracts and orders from individual enterprises and the low inventory. As for raw materials, the price of maize has been weakly adjusted, due to the poor delivery of ethanol plant shutdown and downstream feed industry, the last auction time for maize storage is expected in early August.

Industry chain: raw materials, corn: this month, the domestic northeastern corn alcohol enterprises profit margin is still acceptable, first corn prices have a narrow fluctuation downward, followed by DDGS prices higher, to fill the profit margin. According to the profitability of corn alcohol in Heilongjiang, the current purchase price of corn is around 1600-1730 yuan/ton, and the current price of DDGS is 1730-1900 yuan/ton. Looking at alcohol, the price mainstream is around 4650-4750 yuan per ton, and theoretical profit of 310 yuan per ton of alcohol.

Ethyl acetate: The domestic market of ethyl acetate has risen sharply this month, with the increase of 550 yuan/ton in East China and 850 yuan/ton in South China. At the beginning of the month, we encountered the downstream phased replenishment, as well as the partial cargo digestion in the North China market, and the low inventory of the mainstream enterprises, which led to the continuous increase in the turnover of the offer. Subsequently, raw material acetic acid rose sharply, and on the basis of low social inventory of ethyl acetate, suppliers pushed up the offer, following the rising trend of raw materials. After mid-month, part of the export shipments were delivered one after another, and the overall social stock of the market remained low. Under the situation that downstream ethyl acetate remained bullish for the latter period, purchasing and reserving goods was positive, and the market parties had obvious advantages.

Industry: According to the price monitoring of business associations, in August 2019, there were 37 commodities rising annually in the chemical sector, of which 15 commodities increased by more than 5%, accounting for 17.9% of the monitored commodities in the sector; the first three commodities were hydrogen peroxide (39.93%), acetic acid (20.90%) and butadiene (14.47%). There are 39 kinds of products with a decline of more than 5%, accounting for 15.5% of the monitored products in this sector. The products with the first three declines are yellow phosphorus (-27.58%), epichlorohydrin (-23.28%) and sulfur (-19.38%). This month’s average rise and fall was 0.03%.

3. Future Market Forecast

Looking at the market next month, “Gold September Silver October” chemical peak season is coming, but combined with the market at the end of August, it is difficult to make a significant improvement before mid-September. At present, the domestic alcohol supply is large, the Mid-Autumn reserve of downstream liquor has not promoted the market to rise, but in chemical industry, only ethyl ester has started well, and other chemical downstream maintained just need to purchase the amount. According to the rules of the industry, the Mid-Autumn Festival stock-up cycle has ended. September will be faced with the “Eleventh” holiday stock-up, coupled with the production of downstream chemical industry, or a certain degree of favorable alcohol market. However, considering the new grain market in September, the trend of cost will directly guide the market, which needs to be followed up.

Houston, Aug. 27, reported that U.S. polypropylene (PP) exporters are facing some logistical delays as packaging facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast are close to full capacity.

Domestically sold materials are mainly transported by bulk trains, while serving export buyers in Mexico and Canada.

For exports outside North America, materials must be shipped to the U.S. Gulf Coast for packaging. Export goods are usually sold on container ships in 25 kg bags.

Packaging facilities along the Gulf of Mexico are experiencing delays as they try to keep up with the large volume of new polyethylene exported from the Gulf Coast.

Therefore, packaging facilities and warehouses have limited capacity to handle polypropylene exports, as polyethylene exporters and packers have much larger business volumes.

The U.S. polypropylene market is abundant, and there is a tendency to increase output in export channels to reduce domestic supply length.

Exports are piling up on bulk trucks in chemical plants, but there is insufficient supply of bagged materials for immediate shipment, so there is a delay of two to three weeks before the bags are officially sold.

As the current quotation level is considered too high to take advantage of international arbitrage opportunities, the export price of polypropylene is facing some downward pressure.

Propylene contracts in August were extended for delivery, which may limit the upward trend of polypropylene prices.

American polypropylene goods are usually priced on the basis of unit premium.

ICIS assessed that the U.S. Gulf FOB for polypropylene bagged exports was 46-49 cents per pound ($1014-1080 per ton) in the week ending August 23.

Polypropylene is mainly used for packaging, rope, carpet, plastic parts, loudspeakers and automobile parts.

Major polypropylene producers in the United States include Brazil National Chemical Corporation, ExxonMobil, Formosa, Inlis, Leandebaser, Philips 66 and Dodall Petrochemical.