Lead: Domestic coatings demand has yet to see a notable improvement so far this year, and adhesive demand has remained limited to essential procurement. Downstream demand for C5 petroleum resin has still not improved significantly in August, and market transactions were generally moderate during the week.
1. Pyrolysis C5 and piperylene prices held steady
This week, pyrolysis C5 was quoted at 5,800 yuan/ton in North China, 5,800 yuan/ton in East China, 5,450–6,310 yuan/ton in Northeast China, and 5,500–5,700 yuan/ton in South China, with some private-sector prices rising to 6,550–7,263 yuan/ton. Domestic piperylene prices edged up during the period, with the low end increasing by 100 yuan/ton and the high end by 200 yuan/ton, bringing ex-works prices to 7,100–8,100 yuan/ton.
2. C5 petroleum resin supply remained at a relatively low level this week
This week, industrial pyrolysis C5 output rose by 1,100 tons from the previous week to 72,400 tons, while C5 petroleum resin supply stood at 8,200 tons, corresponding to an operating rate of 63.29%. Output has continued to decline since early December last year, down 19 percentage points from the full-year 2025 operating rate of 82.3%. The main causes are slightly insufficient feedstock supplies of pyrolysis C5 and piperylene; downstream curing-agent producers, mostly delivering on existing orders, procured relatively large volumes of piperylene, which has somewhat delayed the restart of C5 petroleum resin production and kept output at a relatively low level.
From an inventory perspective, after downstream coatings and adhesive manufacturers stocked up in July, they entered a digestion cycle with purchases largely limited to rigid demand. Overall production-to-sales balance has been difficult to achieve, and inventory levels edged higher with minor fluctuations, though still remaining at relatively low levels compared with the past two years.
Table 1: C5 petroleum resin production-sales balance
| Data type | Data | This period | Previous period | Change | Next-period trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road-marking-paint C5 petroleum resin | Output | 5 | 4.8 | 0.2 | ↑ |
| Inventory | 12.2 | 10.7 | 1.5 | ↑ | |
| Consumption | 3.5 | 2.6 | 0.9 | ↑ | |
| Adhesive C5 petroleum resin | Output | 3 | 3 | 0 | → |
| Inventory | 13 | 14 | -1 | ↓ | |
| Total demand | 4 | 3.8 | 0.2 | ↑ |
Data source: Chempricehub Information
From a consumption perspective, C5 petroleum resin prices saw scattered declines during the period, which stimulated slightly higher shipments in some regions, though overall market transaction activity remained moderate.
In summary, the second half of August may bring phased restocking in the downstream peak season for domestic C5 petroleum resin, with replenishment volumes rising. Overseas demand is also expected to continue recovering toward the end of August, so demand should gradually improve. Nevertheless, hot-melt coatings remain constrained by the hard ceiling of low terminal construction activity, making a substantial demand increase difficult, while adhesive demand is expected to continue its moderate upward trend. As downstream demand expands alongside recovering supply, prices are likely to remain stable next week, with a slight uptick possible toward the end of the month.
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