Author Archives: lubon

Cost drives acrylonitrile market to halt decline and consolidate

This week, crude oil and propylene prices have risen strongly, and raw material costs have significantly increased. In addition, the short-term supply increment is still limited, and the industry inventory is still not under pressure. Therefore, acrylonitrile suppliers have maintained overall high prices, and the market has also stopped falling and consolidated as a result. As of September 4th, the mainstream negotiated price for tank self pickup in the East China market is 11550-11750 yuan/ton, a decrease of 100 yuan/ton from last week; The mainstream negotiated price for delivery within the Shandong market area is between 11250-11350 yuan/ton, a decrease of 200 yuan/ton compared to last week.
Supply increase:
During the week, the acrylonitrile plant in Jiangsu gradually increased its load, with plans to gradually resume operation of three sets in early September. Zhejiang Petrochemical’s 520000 tons of acrylonitrile have now recovered to around 90% of its load, and the East China plant is gradually increasing its load; In the northern market, Liaoning’s facilities have gradually restarted and resumed, and the industry’s capacity utilization rate has recovered to over 70%, with a significant increase in overall supply. According to statistics, this week (August 28-September 3), the capacity utilization rate of the domestic acrylonitrile industry reached 72.19%, an increase of 4.14% compared to the previous cycle; The weekly output is about 84200 tons, which is+0.48 million tons compared to the previous cycle. The increase in supply within the week is temporarily limited, and the inventory of enterprises is still controllable. As of September 2nd, the total inventory of domestic acrylonitrile factories is about 50000 tons, which is+0.050 million tons compared to last week.
Limited incremental demand:
This week, the utilization rate of production capacity in major downstream industries has increased and decreased. Among them, the utilization rate of ABS production capacity was 57.5%, which was -1.1% compared to last week, and the East China factory decreased; The capacity utilization rate of acrylic fiber enterprises is 51.25%, which is -0.23% compared to last week; The utilization rate of acrylamide production capacity was 55.87%, an increase of 6.69% compared to last week, and the overall demand for acrylonitrile remained relatively stable.
Cost increase:
During the week, crude oil and propylene prices rose strongly, and raw material costs significantly increased. Acrylonitrile prices remained stable, resulting in a significant decrease in theoretical production profits. According to statistics, as of September 4th, the mainstream closing price of Shandong propylene market was based on 9200-9400 yuan/ton, with an average price of 9300 yuan/ton, an increase of 635 yuan/ton from last week; The average production cost of acrylonitrile is 11808 yuan/ton, with a month on month increase of 4.34%. The average production profit is -58 yuan/ton, with a month on month increase of -801 yuan/ton.
Post production forecast: Currently, major factories in East China are gradually increasing negative growth, and overall demand expectations are increasing. However, there is no expectation of improvement in downstream demand. Although the market downturn has been limited by rising raw material costs in the near future, basic bearish expectations continue to exist, and downstream users are still resistant to high raw material prices. Purchasing enthusiasm is still difficult to improve. However, due to concerns about the impact of cost on long-term supply, the pace of market downturn will still be slow.

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The price trend of domestic PX market has risen this week (8.30-9.4)

This week, the domestic PX market price trend has risen, with an average price of 8500 yuan/ton at the beginning of the week and 9000 yuan/ton over the weekend, an increase of 5.88% and a year-on-year increase of 25%.
The rise in crude oil prices provides significant cost support
In early September, the US Iran conflict escalated in a new round, and market pricing was expected to “hit the upgrade”, leading to a continued strong rise in oil prices. The Strait of Hormuz is a core channel for global energy transportation, and its disturbance directly triggers panic in the aromatics market, leading to an increase in the crude oil market and a rise in the PX market.
Supply side: inventory depletion, tight spot availability
Recently, the scope of load reduction for refineries in Asia has expanded, and multiple sets of equipment in China have undergone centralized maintenance in the early stage, resulting in a decline in PX supply in the Asian region; Domestic PX production has rebounded to about 74%, but inventory continues to deplete and the tight spot market remains unchanged, causing holders to raise prices and hesitate to sell.
Demand side: PTA restart expected+polyester replenishment
PTA production has rebounded to about 63.8%, with plans to restart/increase the burden of multiple units in the context of low inventory and high profits, resulting in marginal improvement in PX demand expectations; The downstream demand for polyester chains is still acceptable, and spot inventory replenishment has increased, forming a strong pattern of “double increase in supply and demand, stronger demand increment”, and the PX market trend is rising.
Market forecast: In the short term, the PX market is mainly characterized by strong fluctuations, intensified volatility, and easy to rise but difficult to fall. The core depends on whether the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East has eased and the recovery of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; The terminal profit of polyester has been squeezed. If the terminal orders cannot continue to improve, the demand side support will weaken, which will affect the increase in PX.

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PA66 market stabilizes at a low level in August and rebounds slightly

1、 Review of August Market Trends
In August, the domestic PA66 spot market as a whole stabilized at a low level and experienced a slight rebound at the end of the month. In the first half of the year, the market price remained stable at around 18000 yuan/ton for a long time, and the focus of transactions remained stagnant; As we entered the latter half of the year, the bullish sentiment in the market gradually heated up. On September 1st, the spot price rose to 18166.67 yuan/ton, a daily increase of 0.93%, and the price completed a phase of slight increase. From the perspective of cycle position, the current one-year cycle price is at a medium low level, and the short-term 10 day and 20 day cycle prices have reached a high range. After a short-term rebound, the price pressure signal appears.
1. Cost analysis
The supply of upstream adipic acid and adiponitrile raw materials is relatively loose, and there has been no significant increase in basic raw material prices. The bottom support for PA66 production costs is moderate, and a strong cost driven market has not been formed. The profit margin of the enterprise’s production side has been restored, and the factory’s operating load has steadily rebounded. The cost side has not provided strong impetus for the continuous upward trend of spot prices. The slight increase at the end of this round is mainly driven by the supply and demand of spot prices, rather than cost induced price increases.
2. Supply and demand analysis
On the supply side, the mainstream PA66 production enterprises in China are operating smoothly overall, with sufficient supply in the industry and no shortage of market sources. With the price rebounding from the previous low, some factories have increased their willingness to raise prices, providing some support for spot prices. On the demand side, August belongs to the traditional off-season of downstream engineering plastics, modification, and injection molding industries. Downstream terminal factories purchase on demand and take on as needed, with weak willingness to stock up in large quantities. The release pace of demand is gentle, and the upward transmission power is limited. The overall pattern of abundant supply and moderate recovery of essential demand has constrained the room for price increases, making it difficult for the market to break out of a unilateral surge.
2、 Short term future forecast
The short-term PA66 market is expected to maintain strong volatility and high pressure operation. The moving average indicator sends out a bullish signal, indicating solid support at the bottom of the price and limited downward space; However, in the short term, the prices of the 10 day and 20 day cycles have already reached a high range, coupled with insufficient follow-up from downstream demand. The momentum for further significant increases in the short term is weak, and the market is likely to mainly operate in a range oscillation, with a slower upward trend in prices. In the medium to long term, the current annual price is at a mid to low level and still has upward potential.

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The domestic silicon metal 441 # market steadily rose slightly in August

On August 31, 2026, the reference market price for domestic silicon metal # 441 was 9430 yuan/ton, which increased by 150 yuan/ton or 1.62% compared to August 1 (market price of silicon metal # 441 was 9280 yuan/ton).
1、 Trend analysis
In August, the overall market situation of domestic silicon metal 441 # showed a steady upward trend. In early August, there was little change in the market situation of metal silicon 441 #, and the performance in the market was relatively calm, with market consolidation as the main trend. In mid August, the market price of metal silicon 441 # began to steadily increase in a narrow range. The price center of metal silicon 441 # in many regions of China has been gradually moving upwards, with a cumulative increase of around 100-200 yuan/ton during the month. As of August 31st, the reference price of metal silicon 441 # in China is around 9050-9700 yuan/ton.
Fundamental situation
On the supply side: Since August, the overall supply of domestic silicon metal market has contracted compared to the previous period, with some areas experiencing maintenance and production shutdowns of silicon metal devices, resulting in a decrease in overall on-site operating rates. The pressure on spot supply has eased, and the overall market has received stronger support from the supply side.
In terms of demand: In August, the overall performance of downstream demand for metallic silicon was still acceptable. Although there is still consensus on reducing production and reversing internal competition in the downstream organic silicon market, the golden September and silver October are approaching. Downstream users still provide certain support to the market for phased procurement and stocking of raw materials. The demand in the downstream aluminum alloy ingot market remains mainly for essential procurement. In August, the overall supply and demand of the metallic silicon market improved slightly.
Market analysis in the future
At present, the overall inquiry and trading atmosphere in the silicon metal market is mild, and the overall destocking performance in the spot market is still acceptable. It is expected that in the short term, the domestic silicon metal market will mainly operate with large stability and small strength, and specific attention needs to be paid to the resumption of production in some regions and downstream construction.

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What will happen to the September market of zinc, which is leading the basic metals with a monthly increase of 5.6%?

As of August 31st, the price of 0 # zinc was 26235 yuan/ton, an increase of 5.61% compared to the zinc price of 24841 yuan/ton on August 1st.
fundamentals
At the macro level, the July Federal Reserve interest rate meeting kept interest rates unchanged, and the weakening of the US dollar index provided pricing support for zinc prices. However, the manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2% in July, and the domestic economic outlook declined, which suppressed expectations for industrial metal demand.
Supply side:
The core support of the supply side comes from the shortage of mineral resources: currently, the processing fees for domestic and imported zinc concentrates have fallen to historical negative values, with the central China region as low as -2000 yuan/metal ton. This is due to the stable resumption of production in the domestic mineral sector but a significant reduction in imported minerals, resulting in a contraction of total supply. Although spot smelting profits have turned negative, integrated enterprises rely on high mining profits to maintain production. The refined zinc production in August is expected to increase by more than 4% month on month, and only the subsequent decline in sulfuric acid prices may drive refineries to actively reduce production.
Demand side:
In August, the zinc market was in the traditional off-season of summer, with moderate to low operating rates for galvanizing and die-casting alloys. The galvanizing industry continued to suffer from negative profits, which suppressed production enthusiasm. The demand for zinc in the real estate chain was sluggish, and downstream only maintained rigid demand procurement and weak willingness to proactively stock up. Spot prices continued to be discounted, resulting in overall weak demand. At the same time, the market is playing ahead with expectations of a rebound during the “Golden September and Silver October” peak season in September and October. Based on the possibility of infrastructure development in the third quarter, bulls are laying out far month contracts in advance, forming clear expectations for marginal improvement in demand in the future.
Inventory end
Overseas (LME): LME zinc inventory fell to 93250 tons on August 22, the lowest level of the year, with a cumulative decrease of about 25% in the past two months. Overseas tradable spot goods continue to shrink, and supply is extremely tight. Domestic (SHFE): As of August 31st, the zinc inventory of the previous period was 102672 tons, and the domestic supply is sufficient.
comprehensive analysis
The zinc price in September is likely to show a pattern of high volatility and a slight shift in the center of gravity, but domestic high inventory, spot discounts, and technical overbought are suppressing the upper space. The opening of export windows partially alleviates domestic pressure, and the approaching peak season of “Golden September and Silver October” provides marginal improvement expectations. The expected operating range for the main contract of Shanghai Zinc is between 25000-26800 yuan/ton.

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