Since November, the phenol market in China has seen more declines than increases

November 28th News

In November, the Chinese phenol market saw more declines than increases. According to monitored data, the Chinese phenol market entered a rapid downward channel at the beginning of October, with a cumulative price decrease of nearly 10% over two months. In November, the price decrease narrowed, with a mixed trend of increases and decreases, and the monthly price decrease was 2.94%. Sinopec's East China factory listed price was set at 6,300 CNY/ton, while the market price in the East China region was 6,163 CNY/ton.

In early November, due to a slightly tight supply situation, the overall average price was high, and traders had limited intentions to offer discounts. In the middle and late part of the month, after some factories raised their prices, traders also quoted higher prices, but the purchasing sentiment from end-users was limited. The upward trend was short-lived and then disappeared, with the market once again entering a phase of continued downward exploration.

At the beginning of the month, the port inventory of phenol in Jiangyin dropped to a historical low of 0.13 million tons. Later, as imports and domestic shipments arrived at the port, the inventory level increased to 1 million tons, with the overall spot circulation volume not significantly affected.

In November, 8 phenol and acetone plants in China underwent maintenance, involving a total capacity of 2 million tons per year. The monthly production of phenol in China in November was 460,000 tons, a decrease of 0.9% year-on-year and a decrease of 4.2% month-on-month.

From the demand side, in the past two months, it has mainly been driven by essential needs, with no significant improvement in demand and insufficient trading volume.

As of November 28, the phenol quotations in major markets across China are as follows:

It is expected that the phenol market will remain weak in December. On the supply side, Zhejiang Petrochemical’s Phase II and Ningbo Taihua’s facilities are likely to resume operations at the beginning of the month. Attention should be paid to the timing of the arrival of imported shipments as well as domestically traded cargoes. On the demand side, overall fluctuations remain relatively mild; bisphenol A shows a slight increase, but this is largely driven by the same plants producing phenol. Other downstream products, such as phenolic resins, continue to exhibit stable, rigid demand. In the absence of any positive catalysts at present, the phenol market is likely to hit a new year-to-date low in December.