On the early morning of June 15th local time, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that after months of negotiations, the complete text of the memorandum of understanding between Iran and the United States has been finalized, and the peace agreement has been officially implemented. This document, called the “Islamabad Memorandum,” will be signed by the three parties in Switzerland on Friday, June 19th, with Pakistan as the coordinating party to witness it together. After three and a half months of substantial flow restrictions and blockades, the Strait of Hormuz, which affects the global energy lifeline, has seen a clear timetable for reopening, causing significant fluctuations in the energy and polyester industry chain markets.
1、 Core terms of the tripartite agreement: 60 day transition period, comprehensive navigation across the strait, and relaxation of US sanctions against Iran
This agreement has been jointly confirmed by the United States, Iran, and Pakistan, with a 60 day transition period as a buffer to create conditions for subsequent comprehensive and in-depth negotiations. The core binding clauses are clear:
1. Establish a permanent ceasefire throughout the region, and immediately cease all military conflicts on all fronts along the Middle East, including Lebanon;
2. The Strait of Hormuz is open to navigation without discrimination, allowing all types of merchant ships worldwide to freely pass through and lifting restrictions on past navigation;
3. The US has lifted the blockade measures on Iranian ports and simultaneously introduced multiple batches of sanctions exemption policies targeting Iran’s energy trade.
2、 Rapid response on the market: Crude oil plummeted by 4%, PET bottle spot prices fell below 8000 yuan/ton, and spot data weakened synchronously
On the morning of June 15th, after the news was released, the international commodity and domestic chemical markets were all volatile, and the market’s risk aversion quickly dissipated: the largest decline in international crude oil during the session expanded to 7%, and the overall closing fell by more than 4%. Brent crude oil directly fell below the key threshold of $80 per barrel; Risk assets such as gold, silver, US stock futures, and cryptocurrencies have simultaneously strengthened, leading to a significant outflow of safe haven funds from the crude oil market.
Transmitting to the domestic polyester industry chain, the cost collapse effect is quickly realized. The main contract for PET bottle flakes in the futures market plummeted by over 5% in early trading; According to price data, the spot price of PET bottle slices in East China shows that the mainstream negotiated prices in the market have been significantly reduced, and the spot market has directly broken through the integer threshold of 8000 yuan/ton, with a cliff like drop of several hundred yuan compared to the previous trading day’s average price. The pessimistic sentiment of the industrial chain has been released in a concentrated manner.
3、 Bottom line logic of price decline: geopolitical premium cleared, expected complete reversal of raw material supply gap
1. Rapid divestment of Middle East geopolitical risk premium
Previously, the core support for continuously bottoming out international oil prices and raising the cost of polyester raw materials – the geopolitical premium of the Middle East conflict – was quickly cleared with the implementation of the peace agreement. The market no longer pays additional risk premiums for the interruption of cross-strait shipping and the obstruction of crude oil transportation, and crude oil pricing returns to supply and demand fundamentals.
2. The logic of PX and PTA raw material shortage is completely shaken
Data shows that before the implementation of the agreement, the operating rate of PX facilities in Asia remained at a low level of 64% -65% in recent years. The market is generally concerned about the disruption of crude oil and aromatic hydrocarbon transportation in the Middle East, which may lead to a shortage of raw materials and become the core driving force for the continuous destocking and firm prices of PX and PTA.
With the resumption of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the supply chains of crude oil and aromatic hydrocarbons in the Middle East are expected to be repaired in an orderly manner within a few weeks, reversing the long-term market expectation of a hard supply gap in raw materials; After the end of this round of PTA centralized maintenance cycle, the willingness of factories to resume work will significantly increase, and the supply gap of medium and long-term raw materials will continue to narrow. The cost support of PET bottle flakes will continue to weaken.
4、 The supply and demand fundamentals of bottle tablets have weakened synchronously, with both internal and external pressures amplifying the downward trend
The decline in crude oil prices is only an external trigger for the price drop. The core internal cause of the continuous weakening of the market is the shift in the supply and demand pattern of PET bottle flakes from tight to loose. Combined with the monitoring data of the polyester industry chain by Shengyi Society, it can be clearly confirmed that:
Supply side: Steady release of production capacity, continuous accumulation of inventory
The overall capacity utilization rate of PET bottle flakes in China has rebounded from a low of 71% in the early stage to 71.9%; Multiple sets of pre parking maintenance devices have been restarted one after another; Inventory data shows that the available days of finished product inventory in the bottle chip factory have rebounded from the extremely low level at the end of April to over 9 days, and supply pressure is gradually emerging. If the transportation of raw materials from the Middle East is fully restored, the industry’s operating rate may further increase after the maintenance season ends, and the supply increment will continue to be released.
Demand side: Traditional peak season delivery falls short of expectations, downstream replenishment power is insufficient
Although there is a rigid procurement demand in the soft drink industry, high priced raw materials suppress enterprise profits in the early stage, and downstream manufacturers generally purchase according to demand, resulting in a lack of large-scale centralized replenishment actions. The overall market demand is showing a weak trend during the peak season, and there is a high probability that the demand for polyester will reach a turning point in mid to late June; After the easing of tensions between Iran and the United States, the circulation of overseas goods has improved, and the price competitiveness and sustainability of domestic bottle chip export orders are facing challenges, putting pressure on both domestic and international markets. Overall, the weakening of international crude oil is an external downward driving force, while the loose supply and demand in the industry is an internal suppressing force. Under the dual negative resonance, the decline in PET bottle flakes may continue to exceed that of upstream PX and PTA raw materials.
5、 Prediction of future market trend: 8000 yuan has shifted from support to strong resistance, and the price center continues to shift downwards
Based on the trend of spot prices, supply and demand data of the industrial chain, and changes in geopolitical policies, the PET bottle chip market can be roughly divided into two stages:
Short term 1-2 weeks: Emotions will dominate and fluctuate weakly, and the bearish sentiment brought by the peace agreement in the range of 7800-8000 yuan/ton will be concentrated and released, making it difficult for crude oil to experience a significant rebound in the short term; If the agreement is smoothly implemented and safe haven funds flow back to precious metals, the pressure on crude oil will continue to be weak. Corresponding to the PET bottle spot market, the 8000 yuan mark has completely transformed from strong support in the early stage to core resistance above. The market is likely to operate weakly in the range of 7800-8000 yuan/ton, and the spot price of Shengshe may continue to hover at the lower edge of this range.
Mid term 1-2 months: Fundamental repricing, with three major variables determining the downward space. The pricing logic of the market will depart from geopolitical conflicts and return to the supply and demand of the polyester industry chain itself. The key observation points for the subsequent market trend are: the actual recovery speed of the Middle East aromatics and crude oil supply chains; The pace of industry resumption and production after PTA maintenance is completed; Is there a centralized replenishment window downstream at the end of the traditional peak season for beverages.
Summarizing the implementation of the Iran US peace agreement, the “geopolitical premium bull market” that supported the energy and polyester markets for several months has officially come to an end. At present, PET bottle chips are in a dual negative environment of continuously loosening cost support and the industry’s supply and demand shifting from tight to wide. The spot monitoring data of Shengyi Society confirms that the 8000 yuan mark has effectively fallen below. The market will break away from geopolitical speculation and rely on real supply and demand to re anchor a reasonable price range. Short term downward pressure still exists.