<b>Summary of the game battle between propylene oxide and polyether polyol market in March</b>

Propylene oxide

At the beginning of March, most of the cyclopropane supply-side installations maintained a slightly low load operation, and the first phase of Zhenhai was shut down for maintenance. The downward transmission of the demand side was not smooth for a time, but stimulated by the good news of crude oil and propylene, the polyether manufacturers in South China took the lead in raising thousands of yuan for the first time. All polyether factories responded one after another and closed their stocks one after another to watch the market. Panicked downstream customers just need to buy, short-term orders have increased in volume, supporting prices to soar all the way. In the middle of the month, both propylene and liquid chlorine at the raw material end fell, and the cost support of cyclopropane weakened. In addition, the delivery of downstream demand was limited, and the market trading atmosphere continued to cool down. The market has been stuck in a stalemate for a long time. In the second half of the month, with the partial follow-up of polyether orders, the market sentiment picked up slightly, and the game balance between supply and demand was reversed. Under the general load reduction operation of suppliers, the inventory pressure was under control, and the offer continued to rise by 100 yuan. Near the end of the month, the market is weak and hard to recover, and the mentality of the industry is flat. There are few new orders for the main downstream polyether, and the market begins to drop. As of March 29th, the mainstream PO market in Shandong and North China showed that the ex-factory price was 11,700-11,800 yuan/ton.

polyether

At the beginning of March, domestic polyether prices continued to rise due to price increases. Raw material cyclopropane is in the market, and the polyether cost is supported by a firm offer. Then the southern polyether factory took the lead in raising thousands of yuan for the first time, and the northern polyether factory simultaneously closed the market and waited and watched. Under the fear of rising sentiment, stock up intensively and release some small orders. However, after two waves of relatively concentrated cover-ups at the end of February and early March, the continued pursuit of rising prices in the middle and lower reaches has become increasingly limited. South China polyether plants’ two or three pull-up operations gave mediocre feedback, and cautious wait and see is still the mainstream. In the middle of the month, crude oil and raw material cyclopropane fell sharply, coupled with the rapid spread of the epidemic in many places, some urban areas were closed, logistics and terminal demand were obviously limited, foreign trade orders were barely maintained, and market consumption slowed down again. Continue to decline, under the continuous negative guidance of market supply and demand, the center of gravity of the polyether market continues to fall under pressure. Crude oil prices rose again in the second half of the month, resulting in the rise of liquid chloropropene to cyclopropane, and the support of polyether cost became firmer, which pushed up the offers of polyether manufacturers one after another. Near the end of the month, the overall buying sentiment in the market is sluggish, and the terminal digestion needs to be boosted. The actual orders received by polyether factories are average, and the market center of gravity has dropped again. Taking soft foam as an example, as of March 29, the factory price of Shandong bulk water is 12100-12300 yuan/ton.