Price trend

In March, the market for ECH continued to decline due to negative downstream demand. According to the monitoring and analysis system of SunSirs, as of March 21st, the benchmark price of SunSirs' ECH was 9,050 RMB/ton, a decrease of 3.47% compared to the beginning of this month.

Analysis review

Price influencing factors:

Raw material side: In the first half of March, the propylene market showed an upward trend due to changes in supply and demand, and began to fluctuate in the middle of the month. The cost of propylene based ECH still had some support. According to the market analysis system of SunSirs, as of March 20th, the benchmark price of propylene in SunSirs was 6,885.75 RMB/ton, an increase of 1.06% compared to the beginning of this month (6,813.25 RMB/ton). The glycerol market has experienced a narrow correction in price due to external and domestic demand, with a price drop of 1.94% compared to the end of last month.

Supply side: The restart of Wudi Xinyue plant and Jiangsu Ruiheng 150,000 tons/year hydrogen peroxide plant, with one 50,000 tons/year plant successfully started at once and mainly for self use. In addition, Hunan Petrochemical planned to conduct a trial run of its 50,000 tons/year hydrogen peroxide plant in mid March; There was also a trial run plan for the 75,000 ton/year glycerol process plant in Qingdao Bay. Overall, the supply of ECH in the market will increase.

Downstream demand side: The downstream epoxy resin industry had weak demand, and the overall market was mainly declining. On March 12th, the mainstream negotiation price in the Shandong market was 9,200-9,300 RMB/ton for acceptance and factory delivery, a decrease of 7.5%. The lack of positive purchasing mentality among traders has created negative constraints on the ECH market.

Market outlook

Analysts from SunSirs believe that there was still some support on the raw material side, and although the glycerol market has been narrowly lowered due to external influences, the expected decline was limited. Part of the production enterprises on the supply side will restart their equipment, and the market for ECH will increase. On the downstream side, demand is difficult to increase, and traders have a passive purchasing mentality. Overall, the supply-demand imbalance in the market will continue to affect the weak trend of the ECH market, and more attention still needs to be paid to changes in market supply and demand.

If you have any enquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.