The propylene glycol market was weak in the first half of January

Trend context: from weakness to stalemate
Early January: Continued weakness: Under the dual pressure of high supply and weak demand, the market has weakly consolidated in the low price range of the past five years.
Mid January: Cost driven, difficult upward trend: Driven by the rise in upstream raw material epoxy propane prices, factory quotations have tentatively increased. But the downstream acceptance is not high, and the market is in a stalemate of “ups and downs dilemma”.
According to the Commodity Market Analysis System of Shengyi Society, as of January 16th, the average production price of propylene glycol in Shandong Province was 6016 yuan/ton, unchanged from the beginning of the month.
Analysis of Core Influencing Factors
The core contradiction in the current market is the pincer attack of “cost push” and “demand drag”:
Cost support is becoming stronger: The price of epoxy propane, the main raw material, is on the rise, continuously pushing up the production cost of propylene glycol, which is the core force supporting market prices and preventing further decline.
Continuous supply and demand pressure:
Adequate supply: In the first half of the month, there were no major device maintenance on the supply side, and the overall supply was sufficient.
Weak demand: The main downstream industries (such as unsaturated resin and polyether) continue to have a flat demand atmosphere, and downstream manufacturers mainly focus on digesting inventory and purchasing on demand, with low acceptance of high priced raw materials.
Short term market outlook
Overall, the propylene glycol market is expected to continue a narrow range of fluctuations in the short term.
·Upward resistance: If downstream demand fails to effectively improve, price increases driven solely by costs will be difficult to sustain, and the market will face downward pressure after surging.
·Downward support: As long as the price of raw material epoxy propane remains high, the cost bottom of propylene glycol will be very solid, and the space for a significant price drop is also very limited.
Overall, in the first half of January, the propylene glycol market attempted to break out of its trough under strong cost support, but weak demand made its upward path difficult and fell into a typical stalemate.