This Week, the Domestic Polymeric MDI Market Showed a Weak Decline (2.2-2.6)

February 6 news

According to the commodity market analysis system, from February 2 to 6, the price of Chinese polymeric MDI in the Chinese market showed a weak decline. The average price at the beginning of the week was 14,133 CNY/ton, and on February 6, it was 14,000 CNY/ton, with a weekly decline of 0.91% and a year-on-year decline of 24.93%. During the week, the trading in the polymeric MDI market was quiet, with a relatively loose supply. Market inquiries were few, and transactions were scarce. Traders quoted prices according to the market, and some sold at lower prices. There was little news, and there was insufficient support for the market.

Supply side: MDI plants in China are operating normally, while BASF's 650,000 tons/year MDI plant in Belgium is running at low capacity, with expectations for this to continue until March.

Cost Perspective: Recently, the price of raw material pure benzene has been fluctuating and rising. China’s production has increased slightly, while import volumes remain relatively high. Downstream styrene profits have begun to recover, and operating rates at aniline plants have shown some improvement, leading to expectations of a rise in the overall capacity utilization rate for pure benzene. Before the holiday, downstream users have been actively stocking up, resulting in a decline in port inventories in East China. In the short term, market conditions are significantly affected by both cost and demand factors. As supply increases, the fundamentals are expected to weaken gradually.

Demand Side: Downstream demand is entering the market as needed, and pre-holiday stockpiling in China is basically complete, leading to a decrease in transactions.

Market forecast: The current polymeric MDI market in China is stabilizing. With the approach of the Chinese New Year, logistics and transportation are restricted, and it is expected that the polymeric MDI market in China will consolidate in the short term.