SunSirs: The Market Continued to Be Weak, and IPA Continued to Drop This Week (December 9-16)

　　Price trend

　　According to the monitoring of bulk commodity data, the price of IPA continued to drop this week. Last Thursday, the average domestic IPA price was 6,866.67 RMB/ton, and the average price on this Thursday was 6,783.33 RMB/ton. The price was lowered by 1.21% within the week.

　　Analysis review

　　This week, the focus of the domestic IPA market continued to move downward, but the downward adjustment rate weakened. The focus of the raw material acetone market was down, and the cost suppressed the market mentality. Traders were more cautious in purchasing goods, and the downstream were mostly wait-and-see, and the IPA market offers fell. As of the 16th, most of the quotations of IPA in Shandong were around 6,700 RMB/ton; most of the quotations of IPA in Jiangsu were around 6,850 RMB/ton; and most of the quotations of IPA in Zhejiang were around 6,800 RMB/ton. Internationally, the US IPA closed stable on December 14, and the European IPA market closed basically stable.

　　In terms of raw material acetone, the focus of the domestic acetone market in East China was down, and the negotiated price was around 5,100 RMB/ton. In terms of factories, East China Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical lowered the price of acetone by 100 RMB/ton to 5,200 RMB/ton. The fundamentals on the market had not changed much. Terminal factories had poor replenishment sentiment and low bid sentiment. This had suppressed the operating mentality of industry players. Holders lowered their offers and increased their enthusiasm for shipments.

　　As for the raw material propylene, the propylene market had sufficient supply and the demand continued to be weak. When the overall chemical industry turned down, the price of propylene was likely to fall but difficult to rise. The propylene market is expected to fluctuate lower in the near future.

　　Market outlook

　　The IPA analyst of SunSirs believes that the focus of the domestic IPA market continued to decline. The prices of raw materials acetone and propylene had weakened, and cost support was insufficient. The industry lacked confidence, mainly waited and saw. It is expected that the market will wait and see in the short term, and IPA prices will be weak and consolidate.