The prices of n-Pentane and Isopentane foam blowing agents rose by 0.76% and 1.56% respectively today.
Market review from January to June 2021:
From January to June 2021, the domestic pentane foaming agent market showed an “m” trend, and the overall price was higher than that of the same period in previous years. The highest node is one week after May Day, and the price is 5800 yuan / ton. The lowest node is at the beginning of the year, and the price is 4500 yuan / ton, and the difference between high and low prices is 1300 yuan / ton.
The first stage: from January to mid March (price rise stage): the price of pentane foaming agent rises with the support of good cost and demand. On the cost side, the oil market is improving, and the price of raw material mixed C5 rises, which gives a certain rise support to the cost side; On the demand side, the downstream EPS is boosted by the rise of styrene. In addition, the terminal purchase is active, the EPS price rises, and the price receiving capacity of auxiliary materials is strengthened, giving pentane foaming agent some room for rise.
The second stage: from mid March to early April (price downward stage): the price of pentane foaming agent decreased rapidly due to the weakening cost side and the slowdown of downstream demand. On the cost side, crude oil rose in mid March and fell sharply, bulk commodities generally fell sharply, the raw material market fell, and the cost support was insufficient; On the demand side, the price of styrene has weakened significantly, the EPS market has fallen sharply, coupled
Price trend of Pentane Blowing Agents from 2019 to 2021 Data Source: OilChem China
with the slow improvement of downstream packaging and insulation demand, the slow delivery speed of merchants, the obvious pressure on the finished product inventory of most EPS factories, the reduction and shutdown of some EPS factories in East and South China, and the overall transaction atmosphere of the market is insufficient.
The third stage: from early April to mid May (price upward stage): pentane foaming agent is supported by cost rebound, coupled with tight supply of some positive high models in the field, and the price is upward. On the cost side, boosted by the rebound in the oil market, the price of raw material mixed C5 rose; On the supply side, due to the slow price increase and pressure on the cost, pentane foaming agent continued to reduce the supply in some factory parking lots, and many companies mainly sold inventory; On the demand side, most downstream EPS demand models are positive high. In addition, the polyurethane industry has a strong demand for n-pentane monomer, the positive high models in the field are tight, and the price rises accordingly.
The third stage: from mid May to the end of June (price downward stage): the price of pentane foaming agent is downward due to the weakening cost, insufficient downstream demand and increased on-site supply. In terms of cost, due to the strict investigation of environmental protection, safety and taxation, the social oil activities are reduced. In addition, the use of mixed C5 decreases as the weather turns hot, the demand of raw material mixed C5 is restricted, the price is at the bottom, and there is no strong support for the cost of pentane foaming agent; On the supply side, the on-site supply increased, and Jiangsu Xinhai, Dongying Runze and zhongtuolihe added pentane supply, increasing the competitive pressure; On the demand side, the price of styrene fell sharply, the EPS market fell, the terminal merchants mainly replenished at different stages, and the overall delivery was cold. In addition, affected by the inspection, some factories were shut down for transformation or decline, the overall operation of EPS was insufficient, and the demand for pentane foaming agent decreased.
According to the statistics of internal chemical data of Junyuan Petroleum Group, the total output of pentane foaming agent in China from January to June 2021 was 139,500 tons, of which the output from April to June was 97,000 tons, a decrease of 11,100 tons compared with 108,100 tons in 2020.
The average profit of the domestic pentane foaming agent industry has declined continuously for nearly three years. The average profit from January to June 2021 was 186.45 yuan / ton, down 131.41 yuan / ton from 317.86 yuan / ton in 2020, and the average profit in 2019 was 550.45 yuan / ton, down 364 yuan / ton. At present, it is at the lowest profit level in recent three years.
