Domestic TDI market prices rose 300-500 yuan/ton

BASF, the world’s largest chemical company, announced on March 1 that it will raise the TDI listing price by 8 cents/lb. Another chemical giant, Bayer, also recently raised the TDI quota for the North American market by 15 cents/lb, which also took effect on March 1.

In January of this year, BASF, Bayer and other polyurethane giants have raised their quotations substantially, driving the entire MDI and TDI market into a rising channel. Just a month or so later, the two giants announced another price adjustment, which caused other companies in the industry to feel the industry warmer.

According to statistics from Business Club, the domestic TDI quotation for the North China market reached RMB 20,000 per ton yesterday, an increase of RMB 500/t from the beginning of February. The ex-factory price also rose: At the beginning of February, the average ex-factory price of domestic companies was 19,760 yuan/ton, yesterday was 19,900 yuan/ton.

Zhongyu information data shows that since the beginning of this month, the overall center of gravity of domestic TDI prices has risen by 300-500 yuan/ton.

'Because Shanghai Bayer's 250,000-ton production capacity device was parked due to equipment failure some time ago, it gave domestic manufacturers and traders an excuse to increase their quotation, coupled with the expectations brought by overseas price increases and overhauls, and the domestic market's hype atmosphere quickly warmed up. 'Business Society analyst Yu Xin said.

It is reported that BASF's joint polyurethane production facility in Gassma, Louisiana, also shut down for maintenance for 30 days from February 15th, affecting production capacity including 160,000 tons of TDI.

Sun Nengji, analyst at Zhongyu Information, said that despite the fact that some of the second-hand dealers and downstream factories have indeed improved their enquiry atmosphere, the underlying substantive demand remains normal, and trading volume has been limited. 'Actually, the downstream demand for TDI has not really risen, so it remains to be seen whether this round of rally can continue. 'He said.

Another analyst pointed out that the current TDI is in a deadlock between supply and demand. As one of the main raw materials for soft furniture, polyurethane products have been blocked from export due to economic fluctuations and the European debt crisis. Sales volume has dropped. In particular, the domestic real estate market turned from pessimistic to pessimistic. The demand for TDI in the furniture and construction sectors has dropped drastically, and the trend has been sluggish. Looking at the downstream market of TDI, the current domestic demand is still unsatisfactory as a whole, coupled with more downstream procurement of on-demand plants to avoid the risk of high stocks. It is expected that the TDI market will continue to be in a weak state of consolidation in the absence of obvious demand support. 'The analyst said.