Rising Costs and Tightened Supply Lead to a Sharp Increase in Phthalic Anhydride Prices

January 5th, according to the news

Phthalic anhydride prices in China have stopped falling and started to rise.

According to the commodity market analysis system, as of January 5, the price of o-xylene phthalic anhydride in China was 6,000 CNY per ton, an increase of 8.43% from the price of 5,533.33 CNY per ton on December 22. Since late December, the price of phthalic anhydride has stopped falling and started to rebound. The price of the raw material, o-xylene, has risen significantly, leading to increased costs. As a result, the operating rate of phthalic anhydride enterprises has decreased, tightening the supply of phthalic anhydride. The operating load of downstream DOP enterprises has slightly declined, weakening the demand support for phthalic anhydride. The combination of rising costs and tightened supply has intensified the upward momentum of phthalic anhydride prices, causing them to fluctuate and rise.

Phthalic anhydride costs rise and supply tightens in China

On January 5, Sinopec's ortho-xylene price was 6,100 CNY/ton, an increase of 400 CNY/ton from the price of 5,700 CNY/ton on December 20, representing a price increase of 7.02%. The rise in ortho-xylene prices has led to an increase in phthalic anhydride production costs. After the New Year's Day holiday, the operating load of phthalic anhydride equipment in China dropped to 65%, resulting in a decrease in production and a tightening of phthalic anhydride supply. The combination of supply constraints and rising costs has increased the upward pressure on phthalic anhydride prices.

Demand Side: DOP Prices Stop Declining and Begin to Rise

According to the commodity market analysis system, as of January 5th, the DOP price was 7367.50 CNY/ton, which is a 2.91% increase from the DOP price of 7159.16 CNY/ton on December 20th. The operating load of DOP plasticizer enterprises in China slightly decreased to 55%, leading to a reduction in DOP production. The support for phthalic anhydride demand has weakened, putting significant downward pressure on phthalic anhydride prices.

Future Market Forecast

Phthalic anhydride product data analysts believe that, in terms of demand, the operating load of DOP equipment in plasticizer enterprises in China has decreased, leading to a reduction in plasticizer production and weakening support for phthalic anhydride demand. In terms of costs, the price of ortho-xylene has increased, causing raw material prices to rise and increasing the cost of phthalic anhydride. Looking ahead, with the increase in the cost of phthalic anhydride and a tightening supply along with weaker demand, it is expected that the price of phthalic anhydride will strongly increase.