Macroeconomics

1. [PPI] National Bureau of Statistics: In March 2026, the national Producer Price Index (PPI) for manufactured goods turned from a year-on-year decline of 0.9% in the previous month to an increase of 0.5%; on a month-on-month basis, it rose by 1.0%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous month. The purchasing price index for industrial producers shifted from a year-on-year decline of 0.7% in the previous month to an increase of 0.8%; on a month-on-month basis, it rose by 1.2%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous month. For the first quarter, the PPI for manufactured goods declined by 0.6% year-on-year, while the purchasing price index for industrial producers declined by 0.5%.

2. [CPI] National Bureau of Statistics: In March 2026, the national Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.0% year-on-year and declined by 0.7% month-on-month. On average, from January to March, the national CPI rose by 0.9% compared to the same period of the previous year.

3. [US Initial Jobless Claims] Last week, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States stood at 219,000, compared to an expectation of 210,000 and a previous reading of 202,000.

Plastics and Rubber

1. [EVA] Recently, construction on Shenghong Chemical New Materials' high-end copolymer new materials project—which commenced in August 2024—is drawing to a close, with core equipment currently undergoing trial runs. The project is expected to enter commercial production in August 2026; upon completion, it will establish China's first dual-product line for EnBA and EMAA, boasting an annual output of 30,000 tons of EVA, 10,000 tons of EnBA, and 10,000 tons of EMAA. Furthermore, the project's supporting facilities—comprising three units with capacities of 200,000 tons/year for photovoltaic-grade EVA, 100,000 tons/year for POE, and 100,000 tons/year for C5/C9 separation—have already been commissioned and brought online.

2. [PA66] China Pingmei Shenma Group's 200,000-ton/year adiponitrile project (Phase I) achieved full line connectivity and officially entered commercial production on April 3, 2026. As the project achieves stable operation, the Group will rapidly establish a core raw material supply guarantee capacity exceeding 500,000 tons/year for Nylon 66. This capability will support the development of a million-ton-scale industrial cluster and assist Pingdingshan—known as "China's Nylon City"—in building a 100-billion-yuan-level industrial hub.

3. [PP] Shandong Luqing PP operates two production lines with a combined annual capacity of 300,000 tons. Line 1 was shut down on April 9, while Line 2 remains under a long-term shutdown and has not yet resumed operations.

Gulei Petrochemical's PP unit, with an annual capacity of 350,000 tons, was shut down for maintenance on March 5. Its scheduled resumption—originally planned for late April—has been postponed to mid-to-late May.

4. [BR] On April 9, the Northeast Sales Company of CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation) announced a price reduction of 500 RMB/ton for its Butadiene Rubber (BR) products. Currently, the ex-works prices for BR from the Daqing and Jinzhou plants stand at 19,000 RMB/ton (Northeast warehouse pickup price).

5. [Rubber] According to the latest preliminary estimates, Thailand's rubber production is projected to increase by 2.2% in 2026, reaching 4.941 million tons (up from 4.837 million tons in 2025). The total harvesting area for the year is expected to see a slight decline of 0.2%, falling to 22.325 million rai (down from 22.359 million rai in 2025).

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