In November, the domestic phenol market experienced more declines than gains. According to data monitored by Business Society, the domestic phenol market has entered a rapid downward trend since early October, with a cumulative decline of nearly 10% over the past two months. The decline narrowed in November, with overall fluctuations occurring, with a monthly decline of 2.94%. The listing price of Sinopec’s East China factory is 6300 yuan/ton, and the market price in the East China region is 6163 yuan/ton.

In early November, due to a slightly tight supply situation, the overall average price was relatively high, and traders had limited willingness to offer discounts. After some factories raised prices in the second half of the month, traders reported high prices, but the driving force of terminal purchasing sentiment was limited. The upward trend briefly maintained before disappearing, and the market once again entered a situation of continuing to explore the bottom.
At the beginning of the month, the inventory of phenol at Jiangyin Port dropped to a historical low of 1300 tons. Later, with the gradual arrival of imported and domestic trade ships to replenish, the inventory level at the port increased to 10000 tons, and the overall spot circulation volume was not significantly affected.
In November, 8 sets of phenol ketone plants in China underwent maintenance, involving a total production capacity of 2 million tons per year. The monthly production of phenol in China was 460000 tons, a decrease of 0.9% year-on-year and 4.2% month on month.
On the demand side, the past two months have been dominated by rigid demand, with no significant improvement in demand and insufficient trading.
Business Society predicts that the phenol market will continue to operate weakly in December. On the supply side, it is expected that Zhejiang Petrochemical Phase II and Ningbo Taihua units will restart at the beginning of the month. The supply side is concerned about the arrival time of imported goods and domestic trade ships. From the demand side, the overall fluctuation is not significant, with a slight increase in bisphenol A, but it is mostly closely followed by phenol and other downstream products such as phenolic resins to maintain demand. In the current lack of positive stimulus, the phenol market is expected to hit a new low for the year in December.