AJC Weekly Brief

Daily movers board for China chemical, energy and polymer markets; ranked by day-on-day percentage change, with regional price basis. Green ▲ = price increase | Red ▼ = price decrease. USD values converted at USD/CNY 6.72; CFR and bonded bunker quotes are already USD-denominated.

PVC2701 closed at ¥4,791/t, up ¥213 (+6%): a sealed limit-up. The East China basis widened to –¥178/t (–25) as futures outran physical, while South China flipped to a positive ¥42/t (–15). Carbide-route spot chased the move: East China at ¥4,400/t (+80) and South China at ¥4,620/t (+90); ethylene-route material held at ¥5,050/t East and ¥5,100/t South. The macro spark: the Strait of Hormuz situation escalated: reports of channel blockade layered with talk of US military action against Iran, sending crude higher. Ethylene CFR China firmed to around US$1,050/t. Carbide told a choppier story: Wuhai mainstream trade prices rose to ¥2,550/t, then some majors quickly cut ¥50 back to ¥2,500/t.

China sulphur breaks below CNY 8,000 and the story is demand, not supply; acid absorption is failing to carry sulphur’s cost while India resets the DAP clearing anchor into the low-$900s cashequivalent, urea rebounds post-tender against a 4.5-million-tonne export pipeline, and September MAP/DAP/NPK reopening rumours remain exactly that: rumours without customs evidence.

The Iran–Oman Hormuz shipping agreement turns the tide late in the week, yet averages still print eight of nine higher: ethylene +8.4%, methanol +7.3% while the structural tape runs wide: a $14.5 bn electronic-materials merger collapses, Equinor locks ORLEN into Norwegian crude, Niger launches a $1.9 bn refinery, and BASF spends €100 m to get off Rhine barges.

The glycol complex is the week's story. DEG exploded 11.9% to CNY 12,250/t, the largest move on the board with MEG up 5.3% to CNY 6,235/t and BDO firm. Port tank inventories in East China have drawn hard while coal-route glycol units sit in turnaround, and the polyester chain (POY +1.1%, caprolactam +0.8%) is absorbing the cost. When DEG moves 12% in a session, resin, UPR (+1.0%) and brake-fluid formulators everywhere reprice and India imports the bulk of its DEG.

*Daily China ex-works price monitor across energy, rubber, plastics and bulk chemical feedstocks: 20 vs 21 August 2026, with day,

week and month percentage moves. Green ▲ = price increase | Red ▼ = price decrease. USD values*

* converted at USD/CNY

6.72 (21 Aug 2026)*

PVC is one of the world's most widely used plastics: it goes into pipes, window frames, cables, flooring and packaging. China is the world's largest producer, so what happens there shapes prices everywhere, including India. This brief explains, in plain language, where the Chinese PVC market stands right now.

SHANGHAI: Chinese PVC ended the week going precisely nowhere; the main contract settled at RMB 4,498/t, down 9, still boxed inside a narrow consolidation band while everything beneath the surface moved. Operating rates jumped nearly two points as carbide-route inspections wound down, plant inventories built, downstream starts sagged to seasonal lows, and export contracting fell 13% into a monsoon-muted India. Producers are losing RMB 700/t on both routes and shipping abroad at a loss of $4/t.

A week after India set its $766 minimum import price, export orders at Chinese PVC producers have dropped 46%. At the same time, Chinese plants are making more PVC than ever with fewer places to sell it.