Since December, the Chinese phenol market has seen a significant decline

December 05 news

This week, the Chinese phenol market experienced a significant decline. During the week, Sinopec's listed price in East China was reduced by 300 to 6,000 CNY per ton. According to monitored data, from the perspective of the East China market, on December 1st, the price of phenol in China was 6,163 CNY per ton, and on December 5th, the price of phenol in China was 5,760 CNY per ton, a price decrease of 6.54%.

From the supply perspective, the port inventory of phenol in Jiangyin was around 10,000 tons at the beginning of the week. During the week, there were imports and domestic shipments to supplement the inventory, but the impact on the spot market was not significant. Overall, the market supply was sufficient, and traders actively reduced prices to sell.

From the demand side, the participation of downstream end-user enterprises in market inquiries is limited. The main reason for the negative market this time is also the difficulty in releasing demand. The expectation of the price center breaking 60,000 yuan has been released in advance. Factories have significantly reduced their listed prices, continuously refreshing the yearly low points in the market. Currently, due to the low prices, transactions are insufficient, and the price center is further declining.

As of December 5, the phenol quotations in major markets across China are as follows:

The phenol market is expected to remain at low levels. Overall, fluctuations in costs have little impact on the phenol market; currently, the tight supply-demand balance is the primary factor driving the phenol market to continuously hit new lows for the year. On the supply side, Yangzhou Shiyou may schedule a plant shutdown next week, though the overall supply of domestic shipping cargoes remains stable. On the demand side, purchases are generally made according to actual needs, with small orders dominating, and overall downstream demand is unlikely to see significant changes.