Introduction: Recently, the unsaturated polyester resin market has shown an intensifying supply-demand tug-of-war, with price trends largely constrained by the stalemate between both sides. On the cost side, due to sustained declines in prices of key resin raw materials such as styrene and maleic anhydride, the cost support for unsaturated polyester resin has weakened significantly. As a result, the price of 196# resin in East China has fallen from an April high of 10,755 yuan/ton to the 10,600-10,700 yuan/ton range, and further down to the 10,300-10,400 yuan/ton range.

1. 2025-2026 East China Unsaturated Polyester Resin Market Price Trends and Causes

Table 1. Current period price list of unsaturated polyester resin and related products (Unit: yuan/ton)

| Product | Region/Category | Current Period Average | Previous Period Average | Change Value | Change % | Unit |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Styrene | East China | 9,619 | 10,200 | -581 | -5.70% | yuan/ton |
| Diethylene Glycol | East China | 6,656 | 7,317 | -661 | -9.03% | yuan/ton |
| Ethylene Glycol | East China | 4,921 | 5,235 | -314 | -6.00% | yuan/ton |
| Propylene Glycol | East China | 9,095 | 9,675 | -580 | -5.99% | yuan/ton |
| Maleic Anhydride | East China | 7,570 | 7,672 | -102 | -1.33% | yuan/ton |
| Phthalic Anhydride | East China | 7,890 | 7,725 | 165 | 2.14% | yuan/ton |
| Neopentyl Glycol | East China | 9,000 | 9,200 | -200 | -2.17% | yuan/ton |
| Unsaturated Polyester Resin | East China | 10,400 | 10,500 | -100 | -0.95% | yuan/ton |

Data source: chempricehub

Since mid-May, with the arrival of hot weather, the unsaturated polyester resin industry has gradually entered the traditional consumption off-season. After the May Day holiday, the market trading atmosphere remained persistently sluggish, with downstream enterprises generally entering a destocking cycle. Although there was a phased surge in transaction volume before the holiday due to stockpiling demand, end-users' current purchasing willingness is low, with most maintaining low inventory operation strategies and only supporting sporadic replenishment orders for rigid demand. In the FRP sector: affected by the "buying on rising, not falling" psychology triggered by declining raw material prices, a strong wait-and-see sentiment pervades all links of the industrial chain, with limited improvement in actual transactions. Combined with seasonal factors, the operating rate in the FRP industry is expected to face further risk of decline. In the artificial stone sector: total orders in Q1 were flat year-on-year; although Q2 showed slight signs of recovery, the growth fell short of expectations, and the overall market size still contracted compared to the same period last year. Notably, the export market performed well, becoming a rare growth point on the demand side.

Widespread decline in raw material prices drags down the unsaturated polyester resin market, cost support significantly weakened: The recent continuous decline in unsaturated polyester resin prices is mainly driven by the collective weakening of upstream raw material prices. Except for phthalic anhydride, which rose slightly by 2.14% due to tight supply, all other core raw materials showed varying degrees of decline. Among them, diethylene glycol, dragged down by falling crude oil prices and weak downstream demand, fell by 9.03%, leading the decline in the raw material market; ethylene glycol fell by 6.00% due to demand factors. In addition, key raw materials such as styrene and maleic anhydride also fluctuated downward, resulting in a theoretical resin cost reduction of approximately 2%-3% compared to the previous month.

2. 2026 Unsaturated Polyester Resin Fundamentals

Supply Side Analysis: This week, the production load of the unsaturated polyester resin industry showed a significant recovery trend, with the overall capacity utilization rate reaching 36%, an increase of 16 percentage points week-on-week. This fluctuation mainly stems from the typical practice during the May Day holiday when mainstream production units across the country implemented load reduction or planned maintenance shutdowns, leading to a notable short-term contraction in supply. With the gradual restoration of production order after the holiday, most units have completed the restart process, with particularly significant recovery in operating rates at core factories in Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong and other regions. From the perspective of total supply, although the industry is still operating at a low load, actual output this week achieved positive growth month-on-month, with the supply gap narrowing by approximately 12%-15% compared to the same period last week.

3. Subsequent Market Development Forecast for Unsaturated Polyester Resin

Cost Side: Styrene, as a core raw material, shows a weak and volatile pattern, with spot prices in Jiangsu expected to remain in the 9,200-9,600 yuan/ton range. Constrained by the sustained downturn in domestic spot demand coupled with the contraction of overseas export orders, the supply-demand dynamic for styrene is locked in a stalemate, making it difficult to form effective cost support in the short term. It is noteworthy that the transmission effect of international crude oil price fluctuations still requires caution, as it may further exacerbate raw material uncertainty through the chemical industrial chain.

Supply Side: The overall industry operating rate remains stable. With the gradual resumption of production from previously overhauled units, the capacity utilization rate has increased by approximately 2-3 percentage points month-on-month, leaving the market supply pattern loose unchanged. The demand side, however, faces pressure from the traditional off-season. Downstream industries such as FRP and artificial stone, dragged down by the contraction in real estate investment, continue to show weak purchasing willingness. Although resin manufacturers have adopted a "price-for-volume" strategy, end-users generally maintain low inventory levels and only place small orders to meet rigid demand, making it difficult for market transactions to see significant volume.

The current market presents a typical triple squeeze situation:

• Cost collapse: Declining prices of major raw materials such as styrene weaken the resin pricing anchor.
• Demand suppression: The shrinking demand from the construction industry chain leads to order gaps.
• Profit erosion: Factory gross profit margins have been compressed to the critical line of 300-500 yuan/ton. Some enterprises are alleviating inventory pressure by dynamically adjusting unit loads.

4. Key Observation Points for the Future

• Southeast Asia export window: Monitor whether June shipping orders can sustain the growth trend seen in Q1.
• Seasonal transition node: Stockpiling momentum ahead of the traditional peak season at the end of Q2.
• Policy variables: If real estate stimulus policies are intensified, it may drive marginal improvement in demand for FRP composite materials.