Market Overview 

This week (4.1-4.9), the dichloromethane market in Shandong shows a weak supply-demand pattern, with a slight shift in price focus. After the Qingming Festival, the downstream demand for temporary replenishment of inventory weakened, coupled with insufficient support from the cost side, and manufacturers' inventory pressure led to slight discounts on shipments.

According to the monitoring of the commodity market analysis system of SunSirs, as of April 9th, the average price of bulk dichloromethane in Shandong Province was 2,355 RMB/ton, a decrease of 2.89% from before the holiday.

Analysis of influencing factors

Supply side: Limited support for local maintenance, inventory pressure still exists

Device dynamics: Some methane chloride units in Shandong are undergoing maintenance and load reduction, and the overall operating rate of the industry has slightly decreased to around 75%, but the supply is still relatively sufficient.

Enterprise inventory: After the holiday, the pace of downstream procurement slowed down, and major manufacturers accumulated inventory. Some enterprises promoted destocking by reducing prices slightly.

Cost side:The raw material methanol weakens, and the hedge against the rise of liquid chlorine is limited,

Methanol: Affected by macroeconomic sentiment and weak demand, methanol prices have significantly declined. As of April 9th, the spot price of methanol in SunSirs is quoted at 2,487.50 RMB/ton, with a weekly decline of 3.59%, weakening the cost support of dichloromethane.

Liquid chlorine: The price of liquid chlorine in Shandong has recently increased, but its overall cost impact on dichloromethane is limited.

Demand side: Obvious off-season characteristics, weak impact on exports

Refrigerant industry: Dichloromethane, as a raw material for R32, is currently in the off-season of air conditioning production with stable demand. It is expected that the peak season of May June will approach or drive demand to recover.

Other fields: Pharmaceutical and pesticide intermediate enterprises purchase on demand, and solvent demand (coatings, adhesives, etc.) continues to be weak.

Export: The United States has implemented a 34% tariff policy on China, but the proportion of dichloromethane exports from China to the United States is only 0.62% (2024 data), with little short-term impact.

Future prospects

According to the analysis of SunSirs, the current dichloromethane market is facing the following mixed factors of long and short positions:

Negative factors: Insufficient cost support for methanol, difficult to see short-term increase in downstream demand, and enterprise inventory pressure still needs to be digested.

Positive factors: The industry's operating rate has been reduced, and with the approaching peak season for refrigerants, the expectation of marginal improvement in demand has increased.

Comprehensive prediction: In the short term, the price of dichloromethane may continue to fluctuate weakly, and in the later stage, it is necessary to focus on the trend of methanol on the cost side, the progress of enterprise inventory depletion, and the signal of peak season stocking. If downstream demand rebounds as scheduled after May, the market is expected to stabilize and rebound.

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