BASF issued three price increase letters in a row! The market outlook for polyurethane and epoxy is soaring!

BASF has issued three price increases since July:

Starting from July 15th, the price of polyurethane series products shipped in North America will increase by 0.1 US dollars/lb (approximately 1,428 CNY/ton), and the increase in specific polyurethane systems is expected to be even higher.

Starting from July 10, the price of Baxxodur® polyetheramine in North America will be increased, and the price of polyetheramine will be increased by 0.15-0.16 US dollars/lb (approximately 2100-2700 CNY/ton).

From July 1, or subject to existing contracts, BASF will increase the price of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) and its derivatives in North America.

BASF raised the highest product unit price by nearly RMB 5,000/ton. As the chemical industry has recently entered the maintenance season, many raw material inventories have plummeted. Some major manufacturers have followed in the footsteps of BASF and issued price increase letters one after another!

Polyurethane, epoxy, crude oil and other industrial chains are booming!

According to observations of 674 chemical raw materials, 39 products rose in the first half of July, and 23 products fell. In general, the overall chemical market tends to be balanced.

Recently, the leaders of the chemical industry have successively released information on the increase, which provides rising support for the raw materials that are currently in the falling range.

Polyurethane industry chain:

MDI: BASF raised the price of polymer MDI to 20,000 CNY/ton, an increase of 500 CNY/ton month-on-month, which boosted the polymer MDI market. At present, due to the maintenance plans of some large factories, manufacturers and distributors are reluctant to sell them. As demand recovers in the second half of the year, it is expected that MDI still has room to rise.

1,4-Butanediol: BDO spot supply is tight, downstream just needs to be purchased, and manufacturers are reluctant to sell. As the supply of goods decreases, BDO has greater room for growth. It is expected that in the short term, BDO will continue to rise mainly.

TDI: The market as a whole is dominated by stable operation. The downstream purchases according to rigid demand, and manufacturers and distributors frequently pay high prices. It is expected that in the short term, TDI will still focus on range consolidation. The market outlook needs to pay attention to the news of factory maintenance, which is expected to increase mainly.

Epoxy industry chain:

Bisphenol A: Nantong Xingchen and Sinopec Mitsui stop production, and market supply is tight. Bisphenol A is expected to continue to strengthen!

Epichlorohydrin: large factories are overhauled and there is a shortage of supply. The upstream raw materials propylene and glycerin are operating weakly. It is expected that epichlorohydrin will continue to operate at a high level.

Epoxy resin: Due to the rise of bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin, and the increase in maintenance of epoxy equipment. Leading companies have increased their resin-related products, and epoxy resin is expected to have a lot of room for growth in the second half of the year.

Forecast of the market outlook: the uptrend is set!

Overhauls have increased, and the force majeure of large factories at the beginning of the year has continued to this day, and the inventory of the chemical market from 2020 to 2021 is at a historically low level, and a large number of chemical raw materials are out of stock. With the start of stocking up during the peak season of "Golden Nine and Silver Ten" in the second half of the year, it is expected that the chemical market will mainly rise in the second half of 2021.