1. Today's Summary

• Glycerin prices moved upward; the price of 99.5% glycerin in East China was RMB 9,200–9,250/mt (delivered to surrounding areas).
• ECH traded in range-bound consolidation; the Jiangsu market price was RMB 11,450–11,550/mt (acceptance bill, delivered).
• With cost support still in place, epoxy resin prices continued their upward trend.

2. Spot Market Overview

Table 1 Domestic ECH price summary (Unit: RMB/mt)

Data source: Chempricehub Information

Taking the Jiangsu market as the benchmark, ECH prices closed at RMB 11,500/mt today, flat from the previous trading day, in line with early market expectations. The domestic ECH market operated today with prices largely stable and minor fluctuations. Affected by cost, supply, and demand factors, producers' sentiment has turned positive; while the momentum to push up new orders is strong, sellers remain cautious in actively offering new orders. Downstream buyers made inquiries on a rigid-demand basis, but low-priced supply was hard to find, and actual trading volumes remained limited.

3. Production Developments

Domestic ECH units continued to operate at low loads today, with industry capacity utilization at around 49%. For propylene-route ECH, the cost was RMB 9,285/mt and daily profit was RMB 1,965/mt; for glycerin-route ECH, the cost was RMB 12,225/mt and daily profit was RMB –725/mt.

4. Price Forecast

Domestic ECH offers remained firm within the prevailing range today. With producers and traders having shipped goods out continuously in recent days, overall supply is under no pressure. Combined with persistently high feedstock costs, market sentiment to push prices upward is strong, and there is no intention to sell at lower levels for the time being. Low-priced supply is hard to source for downstream buyers, who mainly replenish on a rigid-demand basis, so the actual volume released is limited. Domestic ECH prices are expected to trend upward in the short term; market trading dynamics warrant continued attention.

5. Related Product Markets

Epoxy resin market: Taking East China as the benchmark, today's bulk ex-works price of liquid epoxy resin E-51 closed at RMB 14,700–15,200/mt, up RMB 100/mt from the previous trading day. In the Huangshan region, solid epoxy resin E-12 closed at RMB 13,800–14,000/mt (T/T, delivered to surrounding areas), up RMB 100/mt from the previous trading day, in line with early market expectations. Feedstock bisphenol A prices rose, and epoxy resin plants continued to raise opening list prices; however, downstream acceptance of high prices was limited, and actual deals remained small-lot purchases on a rigid-demand basis.

Glycerin market: Taking East China as the benchmark, today's 99.5% glycerin price closed at RMB 9,225/mt delivered, up RMB 25/mt from the previous trading day, with reference freight of RMB 150/mt, broadly in line with early expectations. The domestic glycerin market consolidated within a range today. Crude glycerin feedstock prices remained high and provided firm cost support; however, the main downstream segment, glycerin-route ECH, is still loss-making, which has dampened plant operators' interest in raising operating rates. Loads remain persistently low, and feedstock procurement interest is only moderate, mostly on a rigid-demand basis. Demand-side support is therefore limited, posing some resistance to upward price movements. In the short term, the domestic glycerin market is expected to trend upward, driven by rising downstream product prices.

Table 2 Domestic ECH data overview (Unit: RMB/mt)

Data source: Chempricehub Information

Remarks: 1. ↓↑ denotes a significant fluctuation, highlighting data dimensions with a change exceeding 3%. 2. ↗↘ denotes a narrow fluctuation, highlighting data with a change within 0–3%.