Chemical raw materials are skyrocketing! Propylene oxide hit a 9-year high!

It is understood that entering September, the dimethyl carbonate market has risen in a straight line. Among them, the leading company Shi Dashenghua raised the price of battery-grade DMC (dimethyl carbonate) by 200 yuan on September 14 and the price was 11,000 CNY/ton.

According to Shi Dashenghua’s recent announcement, “The price of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) has fluctuated greatly recently, and the price of propylene oxide, the main raw material for dimethyl carbonate, has risen sharply, which has led to a decline in the profitability of dimethyl carbonate. The overall operating performance still dropped significantly compared to the same period last year..." This also shows that the entire industry chain has bucked the trend.

It is understood that on September 16, propylene oxide was quoted at 15,466.67 CNY/ton, and Wanhua Chemical reported a high price of 15,600 CNY/ton, setting a new high since 2012 and setting a new high in nearly 9 years. At present, the inventory of factories in the main production areas of Shandong and other propylene oxide is low, the Hongbaoli plant is stopped, the load of Changling is reduced, and the load of the Xinyue plant is reduced for a short time. The market supply side is still tight. The industry believes that in the second half of the year, the volume and price of propylene oxide will rise, and the industry's third-quarter profit may exceed expectations.

Polyether polyol prices hit a nine-year high, approaching the 2011 high
The lack of an effective increase in the supply of propylene oxide + rigid downstream demand and panic purchases not only supported its high impact, but also boosted its main downstream crazy uptrend-the quotation of polyether polyol exceeded 15,000 CNY/ton, a record of nearly nine New year high, the current market price is close to the 2011 high of 16,600 CNY/ton. The previous increase was adjusted at an average daily rate of 150 CNY/ton higher than the cyclic C level. Recently, there has been an unconventional phenomenon of priceless goods and price increases.
The prices of the above-mentioned series of raw materials continue to rise, in fact, it is essentially caused by a strong downstream pull. In recent years, domestic new energy vehicles have quickly taken the forefront. Important raw materials such as lithium batteries and Electrolytes for new energy vehicles have a large demand for its raw material DMC. It can be said that it is hard to find a single product and the supply in the market is tight. Prices continue to rise. As a new type of solvent, DMC is green and environmentally friendly and has low toxicity. It can also be used in environmentally friendly coatings, etc., which will promote the "rising mode" of many chemical raw materials.

During the half-month period from September 1st to September 15th, 47 of the 86 raw materials monitored by the paint procurement network showed an upward trend, accounting for 54.65%. The top three on the increase list were TDI (22.71%), maleic anhydride (20.19%), Acetone (18.50%), and 8 raw materials including formaldehyde (37%), hydrogen peroxide, and formic acid increased by more than 10%, epoxy resin, 36 raw materials such as isopropanol and propylene rose by less than 10%.

In terms of TDI, this week continued its previous gains. On September 15, the TDI price was 17,833.33 CNY/ton, an increase of 22.71% from the beginning of the month. Wanhua Chemical’s September TDI listing price increased by RMB 2,000/ton to 19,000 CNY/ton, and Wanhua Chemical’s listing price of polymer MDI to distributors in September 2020 was 17,000 CNY/ton, which is an increase of 1,500 CNY/ton from August. Previously, Shanghai BASF raised the September listing price of TDI by 4,000 CNY/ton to 22,000 CNY/ton (in barrels), which was an increase of 6,000 CNY/ton from the August listing price. Since the third quarter, due to the frequent force majeure of overseas TDI production giants such as Covestro and the suspension of production and maintenance by large domestic manufacturers, and the increase in downstream demand, the increase has exceeded 66% since the third quarter, and it has recently been in an upward trend. Or it will continue until the end of the year.

In terms of maleic anhydride, on September 15, Jinan Aochen Chemical's offer for Qixiang brand maleic anhydride was as high as 9,500 CNY/ton, an increase of 31.94% compared to 7,200 CNY/ton on September 2. Entering September in South China, the equipment in Shanxi and Yunnan had malfunctioned, resulting in an increase in supply shortage. The tradable spot in the spot market continues to tighten, and the price of maleic anhydride has repeatedly risen to a new high during the year.

In terms of acetone, on September 15, the price of acetone products of Lihua Yiweiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. was 7,600 CNY/ton, an increase of 2.7% from the previous week’s 7,400 CNY/ton. The mainstream factory Bluestar Harbin’s supply for maintenance dropped sharply, Lihua Companies such as Yiweiyuan have adjusted prices several times in a row. In this case, upstream manufacturers limited shipments and supply tightened, pushing up the price of acetone. The Acetone market is expected to continue its upward trend in September and continue to rise. From the perspective of mainstream factories, the listed prices of factories in September have been raised by about 1,000 CNY/ton for several consecutive times, and the East China factory’s offer has risen by 14%.

Regarding the recent crazy rise of many chemicals, industry insiders believe that the epidemic will be basically controlled in the second half of the year, and downstream industries such as automobiles, real estate, household appliances, and home appliances have gradually recovered, and the demand for chemicals has greatly increased. The state has invested heavily in infrastructure projects of more than 3 trillion yuan and gradually began to invest offline, and the demand for chemical products will increase explosively. More importantly, some raw material manufacturers will be in short supply under the double impact of the suspension of production and maintenance in the second half of the year and the "Golden Nine, Silver and Ten".