August 31 news
According to the commodity market analysis system, the TDI market in East China first increased and then decreased in August. At the beginning of the month, the average price of TDI was 16,733 CNY per ton, and on August 31, the TDI price was 16,466 CNY per ton, a decrease of 1.59% within the month, but an increase of 12.02% year-on-year.
In August, the TDI market was significantly influenced by supply and demand dynamics. At the beginning of the month, due to the delayed restart of the Xinjiang Juli TDI plant and anticipated maintenance at the Gansu Yin Guang and Yantai Wanhua TDI plants, spot availability in the market tightened, prompting traders to adopt a more cautious attitude toward sales, which led to a slight increase in TDI prices. Starting from mid-month, the TDI market entered a downward trend. Although supply tightened, downstream demand remained weak. As supply and demand struggled to find equilibrium, market sentiment became subdued, with limited transactions taking place. The price range for TDI deals continued to decline, and this downward trend persisted until the end of the month.
Supply side: Wanhua Chemical's 300,000 tons/year TDI unit was shut down for annual maintenance on August 11, with an expected maintenance period of about 45 days. Gansu Yinguang's 150,000 tons/year TDI unit will advance its maintenance to September 4, with a duration of one month. The TDI unit of Wanhua Chemical in Fujian is operating at a high load.
Cost perspective: In August, the toluene market in China experienced a fluctuating increase. International crude oil prices rose within the week, driven by both geopolitical and supply-demand factors, which pushed up the price of crude oil and, in turn, increased the cost of naphtha, the upstream raw material for toluene. This provided a solid bottom support for toluene prices from the production end. Foreign toluene quotations also increased, raising the cost of imported supplies, which further reduced the expectation of low-cost replenishment for spot toluene in China. The combination of multiple cost benefits continued to push up the spot price of toluene in China step by step.
Looking ahead, TDI data analysts believe that the current TDI market is experiencing moderate trading activity. Traders are actively selling their inventories, which is putting downward pressure on TDI transaction prices. It is expected that, in the short term, the TDI market will remain weak and fluctuate within a narrow range.
