Cost-Driven Surge in Phthalic Anhydride Market (Aug 28–Sep 3, 2026)

1. This Week's Market Focus

1. Costs rose, strengthening the cost-side driver and pushing the phthalic anhydride (PA) market to new highs.
2. With the US-Iran conflict persisting and supply chain disruption risks, crude oil and commodity futures prices surged sharply.
3. Downstream industries saw widening losses, and resistance to phthalic anhydride price increases gradually grew.

2. This Week's Market Analysis

Specifically, Jiangsu ortho-xylene-based PA prices first fell and then rose over the period, trading within a range of 9,250–9,500 yuan/ton. Hebei naphthalene-based PA prices moved upward, with the trading range at 8,200–8,600 yuan/ton. During this cycle, domestic PA market prices declined initially before rebounding, with cost-side factors serving as the primary driver behind the rebound. At the beginning of the week, expectations of increased supply in the ortho-xylene-based PA sector in South China weighed on market sentiment, putting pressure on domestic PA prices. However, as the US-Iran conflict continued, international crude oil drove commodity futures prices higher, creating a strong speculative atmosphere in the market. Robust cost support from the upstream aromatic hydrocarbon chain, together with a sharp rise in the industrial naphthalene feedstock, strengthened the cost-driven momentum and enabled domestic PA prices to challenge the year's highs once again. Nevertheless, insufficient follow-through from end-user demand constrained high-level trading volumes.

3. Market Influencing Factor Analysis

1. Low capacity utilization in the PA industry.
2. The cost-side driver strengthened.

4. Next Week's Market Forecast

The supply-demand gap for PA is expected to widen in the coming period. Cost-side factors are still anticipated to support price increases, and the cost-driven momentum is expected to remain strong. However, the anticipated increase in ortho-xylene-based PA supply may impose some pressure on the market. Key points to monitor:

1. Supply: Overall operating rates in the PA industry are expected to rise next week, easing the tight supply situation to some extent. Attention should be paid to the release of incremental ortho-xylene-based PA supply.
2. Demand: Operating rates at major downstream plasticizer producers are expected to increase, and overall consumption is projected to grow.
3. Costs: Feedstock costs for the ortho-xylene-based PA route are expected to remain stable for now, but ortho-xylene supply remains tight, sustaining strong cost support for ortho-xylene-based PA producers. Industrial naphthalene feedstock prices are expected to rise, reinforcing cost-increase expectations for the naphthalene-based PA segment.

For more weekly market analysis, please refer to the Chempricehub PA Weekly Report.