Supply is Tight, Demand is Picking Up, and Phthalate Prices are Rising

Recently, the price of phthalate has been rising steadily

According to the o-benzene price trend chart, it can be seen that the o-benzene market has been rising continuously recently, the price of o-xylene in the outer market has fluctuated and the price of o-xylene in China has been rising. As of September 8, the price of ophthalmic benzene was 8,600 CNY/ton, an increase of 3.61% from the price of 8,300 CNY/ton on September 1 at the beginning of the month; compared with the price of 8,000 CNY/ton on August 1, an increase of 7.50% . After 3 consecutive drops in the price of phthalates in July, the market for phthalates stabilized in August. However, with the tight supply of phthalates, the prices of phthalates started to rise continuously at the end of August, and the prices of phthalates became higher.

According to the annual comparison chart of OX prices, it can be seen that on September 8, the price of OX increased by 34.38% year-on-year, and the price of ortho-benzene in 2022 will hit a new high since 2015. Since March, driven by the continued high level of international crude oil, the price of aromatics industry chain has been at a relatively high level, and the price of ophthalmic benzene in 2022 will be much higher than the same period in previous years.

O-xylene market supply is tight

In August, the external quotation of o-xylene fluctuated and rose, and the external price of o-benzene in Europe and Asia fluctuated and rose, and the price of some small single o-benzene rose by more than 10%. As of last week, the main port inventory of ortho-xylene in China has dropped to 8,000 tons, the import volume of ortho-benzene is almost zero, and the export window of ortho-xylene has recently opened, the port inventory of ortho-xylene has dropped sharply, and the supply of ortho-benzene at the port continues to tighten. .

From the price trend comparison chart of mixed xylene and OX, it can be seen that the price of mixed xylene and ortho-xylene in 2022 is highly correlated. Xylene manufacturers are not motivated enough to start work, and many factories are shut down for maintenance. Zhenhai Refinery's 160,000 t/a o-benzene plant has gradually reduced its load at the end of August, and it is expected to be overhauled for 3 months; Fuhai Chuang's 240,000 t/a o-benzene plant has been shut down since the end of June; Luoyang Petrochemical's 40,000 t/a o-benzene plant Benzene plant was discontinued. Many o-xylene manufacturers have stopped production for maintenance, the supply of o-xylene is reduced, and the supply of o-xylene is tight.

Demand for o-xylene picks up

It can be seen from the price chart of phthalic anhydride that the price of phthalic anhydride has continued to rise since August, and the price of phthalic anhydride surged in late August and early September. As of September 8, the price of phthalic anhydride was 9212.50 CNY/ton, an increase of 5.59% from the price of phthalic anhydride on September 1, which was 8725 CNY/ton; compared with the price of phthalic anhydride on August 1, which was 7950 CNY/ton, an increase of 15.88%. The price of phthalic anhydride has risen sharply, the ortho-phthalic anhydride factory has turned losses into profits, and the enthusiasm of enterprises to start construction has increased. The o-phthalic anhydride plant started to recover, and the demand for o-phthalic anhydride recovered.

Outlook

Analysts of o-xylene data believe that the destocking of o-xylene in ports is still the same, domestic o-xylene manufacturers are overhauled more, and the short-term supply of o-xylene continues to be tight; downstream phthalic anhydride enterprises have recovered and demand for o-xylene has picked up. For the market outlook, the supply is tightening and the demand is picking up.