This Week's Domestic Petrocoke Prices in China Rise

May 29th News

According to the commodity analysis system, the price of petcoke from local refineries in China rose this week. As of May 29, the price of petcoke in the Shandong market was 3,141 CNY per ton, an increase of 2.28% from 3,071 CNY per ton on May 22.

This week, the international crude oil market trended downward, mainly influenced by three factors: fluctuating expectations for US-Iran negotiations, improved navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, and anticipated cooling of geopolitical tensions. Combined with U.S. crude oil inventory data, the market's focus gradually shifted from concerns about "supply shortages" to expectations of a "situation easing."

Recently, several local refining companies in Shandong have entered a plant maintenance cycle, leading to a decline in the facility utilization rate of delayed coking. Coupled with the previous reduction in production by some refineries, this has led to a decrease in supply, supporting the petroleum coke market and driving up prices. The supply of imported petroleum coke is limited, and port inventory continues to decline.

Market Forecast: On the supply side, maintenance at independent refineries in major producing regions such as Shandong is still ongoing, and the operating rate of delayed coking remains low, providing strong support for prices. On the cost side, international crude oil prices continue to fluctuate at high levels, putting sustained pressure on refinery processing costs, and companies remain highly motivated to hold prices steady. On the demand side, the operating rates in downstream industries such as aluminum carbon products and negative electrode materials are steadily recovering, and rigid demand procurement continues to be released. However, as prices have risen continuously, downstream buyers’ resistance to higher prices has begun to increase, and their willingness to chase higher prices has weakened. Some companies are now focusing primarily on purchasing only what they need, which will help curb excessively rapid price increases. Overall, in the short term, petroleum coke prices are likely to remain range-bound at high levels.