Caprolactam Market: Cautious Trading Amid Consolidation and Wait-and-See Attitude (Sep 18, 2026)

1. Today's Summary

① Sinopec has reduced the pure benzene price by 300 yuan/ton at its East China, South China, and Central China refineries to 9,600 yuan/ton, effective September 18.

② The weekly settlement price for Sinopec caprolactam for the second week of September is 14,480 yuan/ton (with six-month acceptance bill interest-free).

2. Spot Market Overview

Table 1: Domestic Caprolactam Price List (Unit: Yuan/ton)

Data Source: Chempricehub

Today, the spot market price for caprolactam in East China remained stable at 14,400 yuan/ton on an acceptance bill delivered basis compared to the previous working day. The upstream pure benzene market showed weakening trends, with Sinopec cutting its listed price by 300 yuan/ton to 9,600 yuan/ton, leading to weaker cost support. While some downstream buyers aimed for lower negotiations, trading activity in the caprolactam market became cautious, and the spot market largely adopted a wait-and-see approach today.

3. Production Dynamics

Today, the capacity utilization rate for caprolactam stood at 69.34%, based on a total capacity base of 8.26 million tons. Regarding profitability, the gross margin for caprolactam production was -907 yuan/ton, while the device gross margin was 646 yuan/ton.

4. Price Forecast

Cost support for the caprolactam market has weakened, and the supply landscape is becoming more relaxed. Overall market confidence is declining, suggesting that prices face pressure to correct from current highs in the near term.

5. Related Products Status

Pure Benzene: Today, the low-end price of pure benzene in the East China market stabilized within a narrow range, with negotiation centers dropping compared to yesterday. Mainstream transactions ranged from 9,350 to 9,490 yuan/ton. The US hinted that the US-Iran conflict is nearing its end, raising expectations for geopolitical easing. Consequently, international oil prices fell, dampening sentiment in the pure benzene market. It is expected that operating rates for petroleum-based benzene will continue to rise, and downstream profitability and operating rates may improve; however, buyers remain cautious about chasing higher prices given expensive raw materials. Overall, the fading geopolitical premium drove the intraday decline, with transactions primarily driven by rigid demand for pre-holiday stockpiling.

PA6 Chips: Downstream terminal demand is weakening, and polymerization sales are gradually losing momentum. Coupled with Sinopec's reduction in the listed price of pure benzene, cost support for polymerization has diminished. Today, standard spinning PA6 chips were priced at 14,800–15,000 yuan/ton on a cash short-delivery basis, while high-speed spinning spot goods were quoted at 15,100–15,200 yuan/ton on an acceptance bill delivered basis.

6. Data Calendar

Table 4: Domestic Caprolactam Data Overview (Unit: Ten Thousand Tons)

Note: Based on the text stating "capacity utilization rate 69.34%" in Section 3, there appears to be a slight discrepancy with the table value of 69.22%. The translation preserves the table data as provided.