In January 2025, due to the production of new facilities at Befar Group and Wanhua Chemical, these two suppliers in Shandong showed stronger intentions to clear inventory and cut prices by CNY 300/tonne. PO prices in East China dropped by CNY 100/tonne as a result. The price difference between the North and the South widened, leading to slightly varied sales performance. Meanwhile, recent import prices for PO have been continuously decreasing, with the latest offer at USD 990/tonne.

In terms of import, China’s import volume of PO has been declining in recent years and the annual import volume for 2024 is estimated to total 250 kT, marking a more than 20% decrease compared to the previous year.

As Chinese New Year approaches, downstream manufacturers are increasing purchases at relatively low prices, while the growth in new orders has been muted. Suppliers may maintain willingness to sell and negotiate. With ongoing inventory reduction, the market is projected to fluctuate slightly in the near future.

Prices for flexible slabstock polyols have moved down due to reduced costs. However, the drop in polyols prices is less than in PO prices, resulting in increased profits for polyols producers. Acrylonitrile prices have risen from CNY 9,400/tonne to CNY 10,500/tonne, causing a shrink in profits for polymer polyols. It is expected that the acrylonitrile market will remain high next week. Owing to limited supply increases and low inventories, coupled with the pre-holiday restocking blitz, the market is likely to keep resilient.