From July 13th to 17th, the domestic aggregated MDI market prices rose, with an average price of 17066 yuan/ton at the beginning of the week and 17366 yuan/ton on July 17th. The weekly increase was 1.76%, and the year-on-year increase was 15.14%. During the week, mainstream manufacturers raised prices and pushed up prices, with clear support in the news segment. Intermediaries actively follow the rise, downstream market entry is cautious, inquiry enthusiasm is not high, transaction performance is poor, and prices stabilize after rising.
Supply side: The MDI plant with a production capacity of 80000 tons per year in Tosa, Japan, will be shut down for maintenance at the end of July, with a duration of approximately one month. Wanhua’s 800000 tons/year MDI plant will be shut down for maintenance starting from June 23, 2026, with an expected maintenance period of about 20 days; Wanhua’s 1.1 million tons/year MDI plant has a routine maintenance plan for August.
Cost wise: The pure benzene market has risen this week. The escalation of the US Iran conflict and the significant increase in news of the Strait of Hormuz blockade within the week have driven the simultaneous strengthening of naphtha, providing upward momentum for pure benzene on the cost side. Combined with the low start of production in the domestic pure benzene market, the tight supply pattern, and the decrease in port inventory, it further drives up the price of pure benzene.
Demand side: Downstream demand inquiries are generally average, with small orders being the main focus after price increases, resulting in insufficient demand support.
Future forecast: There is an expectation of tight supply in the aggregated MDI market, and factories’ willingness to raise prices is not reduced. However, the demand side support is weak, and it is expected that the resistance to pushing up the aggregated MDI market will increase in the short term. We will closely monitor market supply and demand as well as changes in the news side.