Price trend

The domestic phenol market saw more declines than increases in November. According to data monitored by SunSirs, the domestic phenol market entered a rapid downward trend from the beginning of October, with a cumulative drop of nearly 10% over two months. The decline narrowed in November, with overall price movements showing mixed results, and a monthly decrease of 2.94%. Sinopec's East China plant listed price at 6,300 RMB/ton, while the market price in East China was 6,163 RMB/ton.

Market Analysis

In early November, due to a slightly tight supply, the overall average price was high, and traders had limited willingness to offer discounts. In the middle and late November, after some factories raised prices, traders quoted higher prices, but the end-user purchasing sentiment was limited, and the upward trend disappeared after a short period of time, and the market entered a situation of continuing to explore the bottom.

In early November, the phenol inventory at Jiangyin Port dropped to a record low of 0.13 million tons. Later, as imported and domestic trade cargoes arrived at the port to replenish the inventory, the port inventory level rose to 10,000 tons, but the overall spot circulation volume was not significantly affected.

In November, eight phenol and acetone plants in China underwent maintenance, involving a total capacity of 2 million tons per year. China's monthly phenol production in November was 460,000 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 0.9% and a month-on-month decrease of 4.2%.

From the demand side, demand was primarily driven by essential needs for the past two months, with no significant improvement and insufficient trading activity.

As of November 28th, the phenol quotations in major markets across the country were as follows:

Market Outlook:

According to SunSirs, the phenol market is expected to remain weak in December. On the supply side, Zhejiang Petrochemical Phase II and Ningbo Formosa Chemicals' plants are expected to restart at the beginning of the month. Attention will be focused on the arrival times of imported goods and domestic shipments. On the demand side, overall fluctuations are not significant. Bisphenol A saw a slight increase. In the absence of positive stimulus, the phenol market is expected to hit a new low for the year in December.

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