February Maleic Anhydride Prices Generally Increased in China

February 28 news

According to the commodity analysis system, the overall price of maleic anhydride in China rose in February. As of February 28, the average offer price for maleic anhydride was 5,300.00 CNY/ton (including tax), which is a 0.71% increase from 5,262.50 CNY/ton on February 1.

Supply side: In early February, the market for maleic anhydride was weak and consolidating. The auction prices of Wanhua declined, with mediocre transaction volumes, providing limited support to the maleic anhydride market. The main factories producing maleic anhydride continued to lower their prices, and as downstream unsaturated resins plants gradually shut down for the holidays, the demand for maleic anhydride also decreased. After the holiday, the auction prices of Wanhua continued to rise, with good transaction volumes, providing support to the maleic anhydride market. The main factories raised their prices, but the downstream unsaturated resins were still in the early stages of resuming production, with limited new orders. As of February 28th, in the Shandong region, the factory price of solid maleic anhydride was around 5000 CNY/ton, and the factory price of liquid maleic anhydride was around 4750 CNY/ton.

On the upstream side: In February, the spot price of pure benzene in Shandong Province experienced volatile declines. On February 1, the price was 6,168.67 CNY/ton; by February 28, the price had fallen to 6,160 CNY/ton, a decrease of 0.43% from the beginning of the month. International crude oil futures rose, while overseas pure benzene prices showed mixed movements. Market confidence in China’s pure benzene market remained generally moderate. Local refineries in Shandong faced sluggish sales of pure benzene, prompting some manufacturers to slightly lower their ex-factory prices.

In February, the n-butane market in China showed a fluctuating upward trend. The Saudi CP price for February was increased by 20 dollars to 540 dollars per ton. The naphtha market in February first rose and then fell. By February 28th, the price of n-butane in Shandong, China, was around 4,550 CNY per ton.

Downstream: Before the Spring Festival, the main downstream unsaturated resins in China gradually shut down for the holiday, leading to a gradual decrease in demand for maleic anhydride; after the festival, the unsaturated resins market gradually resumed operations, with the market mainly in a wait-and-see mode, providing limited support to unsaturated resins.

The maleic anhydride product analyst believes that currently, the main downstream of maleic anhydride, unsaturated resins, are gradually resuming operations; maleic anhydride manufacturers in China have no inventory pressure for now, and it is expected that the maleic anhydride market in China may show an upward trend in the near future.