Demand for petrochemical products in Asia is mixed

According to the national PPI (Industrial Producer Price Index) data for December 2021 released by the National Bureau of Statistics on January 12, the effect of the policy of ensuring supply and stabilizing prices continued to show in December, superimposed on the impact of lower prices of some international bulk commodities such as crude oil. Product prices have fallen.

In December 2021, the national ex-factory price of industrial producers increased by 10.3% year-on-year and decreased by 1.2% month-on-month; the purchase price of industrial producers increased by 14.2% year-on-year and decreased by 1.3% month-on-month. Among them, the prices of chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing increased by 23.8% year-on-year and decreased by 2.1% month-on-month.

From a month-on-month perspective, the PPI decreased by 1.2% from flat in the previous month. Among them, the prices of means of production fell by 1.6%, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from the previous month; the prices of means of living changed from an increase of 0.4% to flat. The implementation of the policy of ensuring supply and stabilizing prices continued to increase, and coal prices continued to fall. The prices of coal mining and washing industries fell by 8.3%, and the rate of decline increased by 3.4 percentage points; the price of coal processing decreased by 15.4%, and the rate of decline increased by 7.0 percentage points. In winter, the demand for construction materials such as steel and cement is weak, and prices have declined. International crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices fell, driving down domestic prices in related industries. The price of oil extraction decreased by 8.3%, the manufacturing price of refined petroleum products decreased by 4.0%, the price of chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry decreased by 2.1%; the price of non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry decreased by 1.4%. In addition, the price of imported liquefied natural gas rose, which affected the price of gas production and supply industry to increase by 5.3%; the trading price range of coal-fired power generation market expanded, and the price of electricity and heat production and supply industry increased by 3.0%.

On a year-on-year basis, the PPI increased by 10.3%, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the previous month. Among them, the prices of means of production rose by 13.4%, and the increase fell by 3.6 percentage points; the prices of means of living rose by 1.0%, the same increase as last month. Of the 40 major industrial sectors surveyed, 37 saw price increases, the same as last month. Among the major industries, the price increases fell: coal mining and washing industry rose 66.8%, down 22.0 percentage points; oil and natural gas extraction rose 45.6%, down 22.9 percentage points; petroleum coal and other fuel processing industries rose 36.4%, The price of chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry increased by 23.8% year-on-year; the ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry increased by 21.4%, a decrease of 9.6 percentage points; the non-ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industry increased by 20.0%, a decrease of 6.5 percentage points. The price increases expanded: the gas production and supply industry increased by 12.5%, an increase of 1.6 percentage points; the electricity and heat production and supply industry increased by 4.8%, an increase of 2.4 percentage points; the food manufacturing industry increased by 4.2%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points.

For the whole year of 2021, the ex-factory price of industrial producers will increase by 8.1% over the previous year, and the purchase price of industrial producers will increase by 11.0%. Among them, the prices of chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing increased by 19.1%.