SunSirs: Trading Atmosphere Was Light, IPA Prices Fell This Week (March 11-18)

Price trend

According to the monitoring of bulk commodity data, the price of IPA fell this week. Last Thursday, the average domestic IPA price was 9,633.33 RMB/ton, and the average price this Thursday was 8,966.67 RMB/ton. The price within the week was lowered by 6.92%.

Analysis review  

IPA prices fell this week. Internationally, the US IPA closed up sharply on March 16, while the European IPA market closed up. As of the 18th, the domestic Shandong IPA negotiation interval was about 8,600-8,900 RMB/ton, and the Jiangsu IPA negotiation interval was about 8,700-9,200 RMB/ton. The negotiation interval of Zhejiang IPA was around 8,900-9,000 RMB/ton. Recently, the domestic IPA market has been sluggish and the atmosphere in the market is relatively empty.

In terms of raw material acetone, petrochemical manufacturers concentrated on making up for losses this week. On the 17th, the market negotiated to 8,450-8,550 RMB/ton. The mentality of the market holders was under pressure, but there were still some high-level holders who were unable to offer low prices. The market rebounded slightly near the close, most of which were offered at 8,500 RMB/ton. SunSirs expects that the East China market is weak and steadily advancing, and the negotiated price in the East China market is 8,500 RMB/ton.

In terms of raw material propylene, the price of propylene in the Shandong region went down on the 18th. The market transaction was between 8,500-8,600 RMB/ton, and the mainstream price was about 8,500 RMB/ton. The impact of low temperatures in the United States still exists, and production capacity is generally restored; the impact of propylene in Japan has decreased, and production capacity has recovered slightly. Now international production has recovered slightly, domestic inventories are general, crude oil prices have been adjusted upward slightly, downstream operating rates are acceptable, and the effect of pulling up is not great, and propylene is still at a high level. It is expected that there may be a slight downward trend in the market outlook.

Market outlook

The IPA analyst of SunSirs believes that the domestic IPA market has a thin trading atmosphere and the pressure on factory inventory is rising. The downstream wait-and-see sentiment is obvious, and there are many inquiries, but they are very cautious in taking the goods. Domestic IPA prices are loosening. The prices of raw materials, acetone and propylene, both fell but remained high, and costs were under pressure. The operating rate of acetone-based IPA is low, and the profits of propylene-based plants continue to weaken. It is expected that the price of IPA will decrease in the short term, but the rate of decrease will be limited.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact SunSirs with suooort@sunsirs.com.