What is driving the price surge in pyrolysis C5 and how does it affect downstream C5 resin margins?

What is driving the price surge in pyrolysis C5 and how does it affect downstream C5 resin margins?
Pyrolysis C5 prices in China have shown strong upward momentum, with a typical northern benchmark rising from 4,700 yuan/t in early 2022 to 6,600 yuan/t by spring, a gain of over 40%. The root cause is the sharp rise in naphtha costs linked to crude oil, which squeezed ethylene margins and pushed up by-product C5 prices. Private ethylene units in the north even bid C5 near 8,000 yuan/t, well above Sinopec and PetroChina levels. Downstream road-marking C5 petroleum resin producers, heavily reliant on purchased C5, saw resin prices rise only about 28%, far less than feedstock. With resin yields of just 40-50% and weak seasonal demand, margins turned negative, forcing operating rates down to 60-70%. This illustrates the acute cost-pass-through challenge for C5 derivative producers when feedstock inflation outpaces product pricing.