Price List of Ethylene Oxide in June

At the end of May, large factories lowered their prices by 500 yuan/ton. In June, epoxy ethane basically maintained a horizontal operation of 6000 yuan/ton. According to the data of the business society, the average price of ethylene oxide in the domestic Spot market will be 6000 yuan/ton on June 30, 2023, which will be the same as that at the beginning of the month; Compared to the beginning of the year, the price was 6800 yuan/ton, a decrease of 11.76%.

Overview of ethylene oxide industry chain

Entering July, due to the impact of the hot weather, there are expectations of further reduction in demand release from downstream construction sites, and off-season expectations for terminal demand, which may lead to a loosening of the current supply-demand balance trend of the main downstream polycarboxylate water reducing agent monomer. The expected decrease in production enthusiasm of polycarboxylate water reducing agent monomer enterprises may lead to a decrease in demand for ethylene oxide.

Low load operation of large factories

At present, the price of ethylene oxide is relatively low, and some manufacturers have hit the cost line, facing increasing pressure to lose money. From the supply side perspective, in June, some ethylene oxide factories had passive production reductions or proactive load reduction to balance enterprise benefits. In addition, some production factories switched to producing ethylene glycol or adjusted their own usage ratio to alleviate production and sales pressure. The low load operation of large factories in July may continue.

The price of ethylene oxide in July is expected to maintain stable operation

Overall, the supply and demand of ethylene oxide are weak, and the price is horizontally stagnant at a low level. From the perspective of cost, the domestic mainstream processes are divided into Naphtha, ethane/mixed alkane, external ethylene production, MTO route, etc; Among them, the Naphtha route accounts for about 49%, followed by ethane and ethylene production. The cost of ethylene production is relatively favorable, and the cost pressure on crude oil routes is relatively high.

In the short term, the cost support for ethylene oxide is weak, and the supply and demand pattern is also difficult to improve. It is expected that the price will continue the current horizontal trend, and the price of ethylene oxide is likely to maintain stable operation in July.