January 9 News: On January 9, 2026, the spot basis for port-based ethylene glycol (polyester-grade, imported, primarily ethylene-based) contracts (minimum 500 tons) showed a weak performance during the day. The basis for this week's contracts softened, with quotes ranging from -160 to -148. By the close, the basis for this week's contracts had declined to -160 to -157, while the basis for next week's contracts fell to -152 to -149. The basis for late-January contracts was quoted at -140 to -137, late-February contracts at -89 to -85, and late-March contracts at -43 to -44.

Chempricehub's analysis of ethylene glycol assigned a bearish score of -1.5. The article indicates that on January 9, 2026, the spot basis for ethylene glycol exhibited weakness, with the basis for this week's contracts declining from -160 to -148 to -160 to -157. The basis for next week's and forward-month contracts also generally shifted lower (e.g., late-January contracts quoted at -140 to -137, late-February contracts at -89 to -85). This suggests ample supply or weak demand in the spot market, leading to a depreciation of spot prices relative to futures prices and exerting significant downward pressure on ethylene glycol spot prices.

Combined with ethylene glycol futures data (e.g., the Dalian Commodity Exchange contract 2605 closed at 3,846 yuan/ton on January 8, 2026, up 7 yuan/ton), the widening basis implies that futures prices may be overvalued and face downside risks in the future. Therefore, a score of -1.5 is assigned, reflecting the overall bearish trend in both the spot and futures markets.